


Believing in Hope

by Madje_Knotts



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-11 02:32:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7023163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madje_Knotts/pseuds/Madje_Knotts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not everything about the curse went according to the Evil Queen's plan. Royal blood is hidden in plain sight and Emma unites with an unknown player to end the Evil Queen's reign.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So this is a kind of a series rewrite that I've had rolling around in my head for over two years now. I wrote the first three chapters in January of 2014 before my Senior Year in college really kicked off. But then I got busy and lost my motivation, so I put this project to the side without thinking I'd ever finish it. Fast forward to the beginning of March this year when 5B began and I decided to rewatch the series again. And that's when the motivation for this story came back with a vengeance. Things may look rough for some of our favorite characters for a while, but just hold on. I swear things will eventually get better. I know how things may look for Regina at first, but she is absolutely my favorite character in this show and I adore her redemption arc, so I promise she will get the redemption she deserves.
> 
> I will be posting the Prologue and Chapter 1 today, but from here on out I'll be posting one chapter a week on Sundays so I can keep enough chapters written and not fall behind while posting. As of now, I have completed 11 chapters and have almost finished writing chapter 12. I am incredibly excited about where this story is going, especially once I reach chapter 30 or so.
> 
> I dedicate this chapter to the Satan Squad, because they keep swearing that they love my writing, so I'm interested to see what they think about something I've written that doesn't involve me killing every single one of the Storybrooke characters in less than 3,000 words. You guys are seriously the best and I am so glad I found you!
> 
> A HUGE Thank You to my amazing Beta - IUsed2bcool who is actually one of the coolest people I know! Thanks so much Babe for spending hours talking about all my writing projects with me and I look forward to working with you forever on every writing project I do!

Snow White was lying in a strange bed with memories of being a woman named Mary Margaret Blanchard who had woken up this morning pregnant and had given birth with the help of Ruby Lucas, a waitress at a local diner. And she was holding her daughter, one of her daughters at least, with her very best friend by her side.

“Snow?” Red asked hesitantly and Snow smiled excitedly back at her friend, Red laughed, “How is this possible? How long has it been?”

“I don’t know how long it’s been,” Snow admitted, staring down at her daughter incredulously, this should have been impossible. “But I think we remember because of this little one.”

“I thought you’d given birth by the time the curse hit,” Red said as she sat down on the edge of the bed, “Why was Emma born here?”

“This isn’t Emma,” Snow said, tracing her daughter’s profile with her finger and laughing as the baby’s nose wrinkled, “This is Ellery.”

“Ellery?” Red asked, “You had twins? Why didn’t I know?”

“The only people who knew other than David and I were Doc and Granny.” Snow said with a smile, “We didn’t want word to get to Regina. We thought we had more time before they would be born. But then Emma was born and David took her to the wardrobe. And then the curse hit before I was able to deliver Ellery.”

“So what are you going to do now?” Red asked, running a hand over Ellery’s head.

“I’m going to find Emma,” Snow said softly, “And then I’m going to raise my daughters so that they know who they are. In twenty-eight years, Emma’s going to come back and break the curse, and everything will go back to the way it should be.”


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of this and future chapters come straight from the show, because there's a lot of stuff in the show that won't change. But there's also a lot of things that are changed simply because Emma has a knowledge of the curse. Besides, we will actually get to see a little bit of what's going on inside Emma's head.
> 
> This story is dedicated to the Satan Squad who are the best Squad ever! Lots of love to all of you!
> 
> Thank You to my beta IUsed2bcool for taking this chapter and giving me the suggestions I needed to help make the writing style flow more with the chapters I've written in the last few months. You're the greatest!

      When Emma Swan blew out the blue star candle on the cupcake she had purchased to celebrate her 28th Birthday, she wished that she would no longer need to be alone. For a split second, she wished that Ellery was there to celebrate with her, but she knew that Ellery was exactly where she needed to be; waiting for Emma to join her. The knock that sounded from her front door startled Emma from her reverie. She wasn’t expecting anyone to be coming over; she didn’t know anyone who would come over.

With this thought, she swung her door open. To her surprise, she saw a young boy about ten years old that she had never seen before standing there. “Uh…can I help you?”

            The boy smiled up at her, “Are you Emma Swan?”

            Emma was sure she didn’t know this kid, so how did he know her? “Yeah, who are you?”

            The boy grinned and Emma was struck by how familiar his smile looked, “My name’s Henry. I’m your son.”

            Emma felt her heart skip a beat as Henry slipped under her arm and into her apartment. There was no reason he should be here, especially not alone. Turning quickly, Emma responded to the bombshell Henry had just dropped. “Whoa, hey kid! Kid! I don’t have a son.” _Ellery does,_ she added mentally, _but I don’t_. “Where’s your mother?”

            Henry sighed, “Ten years ago, did you give up a baby boy? That was me.”

            Emma felt the room start to spin. “Give me a minute,” she said as she walked into her bathroom. Yeah, she had given up a baby boy ten years ago, to Ellery. So where was she? Why was Henry here alone?

            “Hey, do you have any juice?” Henry called, “Never mind, found some!” Emma realized that leaving the ten year old she barely knew alone and unattended in her kitchen probably wasn’t the best idea she’d ever had. She walked back to the kitchen, still slightly dazed, and stared at Henry who was drinking straight out of the only bottle of juice Emma had in her refrigerator. He wiped his lip after he finished before saying, “You know, we should probably get going.”

            Emma was confused, “Going where?”

            “I want you to come home with me.” Henry stated matter-of-factly, as if Emma should have known he expected her to accompany him.

            Emma ignored the brief thought that she could confront Ellery for letting Henry travel to Boston alone from wherever they were living. Instead, she picked up her phone; she really didn’t feel like answering the questions Ellery was sure to have for her. “Okay kid, I’m calling the cops.”

            Henry’s eyes widened, “And I’ll tell them you kidnapped me.”

            Emma put the phone down, “And they’ll believe you because I’m your birth mother.”

            Henry nodded, “Yep!”

            Emma was impressed, he was a smart kid, and manipulative. Emma wondered if Ellery was even aware that Henry had come to Boston. She looked at the kid’s face, he wasn’t serious about the kidnapping threat. “You’re not gonna do that.”

            Henry responded stubbornly, “Try me.”

            Emma was surprised at the hint of fear Henry hid behind his defiance, but she didn’t call him out on it directly. “You’re pretty good, but here’s the thing. There’s not a lot I’m great at in life, but I have one skill, let’s call it a super power, I can tell when anyone it lying. And you, kid, are.

            Henry’s face fell and Emma felt bad for the kid as he pleaded with her, “Wait! Please don’t call the cops. Please come home with me.”

            Emma felt her resolve slipping, “Where’s home?”

            Hope grew in Henry’s face as he answered, “Storybrooke, Maine.”

            “Storybrooke? Seriously?” Leave it to Ellery to find a place to live with a name like Storybrooke.

            Henry nodded excitedly, “Mm-hmm!”

            Emma sighed, “Alrighty then, let’s get you back to Storybrooke.”

            Henry smiled, “Great! Thank you!”

            Emma laughed, “Give me a minute to get changed and then we can leave.” Forgetting her earlier thought that she shouldn’t leave Henry alone, Emma went back to her bedroom to change out of the dress she’d worn to catch the bail-jumper earlier that evening. As she changed, the thought crossed her mind that there was no way Henry’s finding her on her 28th birthday was a coincidence. But she didn’t dwell on the thought. She didn’t want to think about the implications of going somewhere on her 28th birthday.

            Henry was holding a picture frame in his hands and staring longingly at the picture Emma was unable to see. “Whatcha got there kid?” Emma asked as she gathered her car keys, wallet, and red leather jacket.

            Henry quickly stuck the picture back in his backpack, “Nothing.”

            Emma chose not to comment on Henry’s action, “Well come on kid, we need to get moving if we’re going to get you back to Storybrooke.”

            Henry grinned and jumped up excitedly, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

            Emma had to bite back a laugh as Henry practically ran out of the apartment, stopping in front of the elevator and waiting impatiently for Emma to slip on her red leather jacket and lock up her apartment before joining him.

* * *

 

           They’d been on the road for less than 15 minutes when Henry piped up, “I’m hungry. Can we stop somewhere?”

            “This isn’t a road trip; we’re not stopping for snacks,” Emma responded, already planning to stop for gas and food sometime soon.

            “Why not?” Henry challenged Emma’s statement.

            “Quit complaining, kid. Remember, I could have put your butt on a bus, I still could. “ But she wouldn’t. He didn’t need to know that though.

            “You know I have a name.” Henry said, obviously annoyed, “It’s Henry.”

            Emma knew what his name was, but she didn’t want to talk about that. She watched as he pulled a brown leather book out of his backpack, “What’s that?”

            Henry looked hard at Emma, “I’m not sure you’re ready.”

            Emma glanced at the book again, and this time she caught the title written in gold block letters, _Once Upon a Time_ , Emma hid her racing heart by responding nonchalantly, “Ready for a bunch of fairy tales?”

            “They’re not fairy tales,” Henry said confidently, “They’re true. Every story in this book actually happened!”

            “Of course they did,” Emma sounded patronizing, but she meant exactly what she said.

            Henry only heard her patronizing tone, “Use your superpower. See if I’m lying.”

            Emma didn’t need to use her ‘superpower’ to know he was telling the truth, but she couldn’t tell him that she believed him, “Just because you believe something doesn’t make it true.”

            Henry was getting worked up, “That’s exactly what makes it true. You should know more than anyone!”

            Emma needed to know why he thought that and exactly how much he knew, “Why’s that?”

            Henry’s response was exactly what she had hoped it wouldn’t be. “Because you’re in this book.”

            She shouldn’t still be in the book. Those pages should have been removed years ago, “Oh kid, you’ve got problems.”

            Henry smiled and nodded, “Yup, and you’re gonna fix ‘em!”

            Emma had to hide a smile, the kid really had no idea.

* * *

 

            The next four hours were spent mostly in silence as Henry read his book and Emma mulled over all the possibilities for why Ellery wasn’t with Henry and why Henry hadn’t mentioned Ellery yet. Emma wondered briefly if Ellery had found what she had been searching for ten years earlier. Emma pushed down the hope that Ellery had found it, but after almost 12 years spent searching, Emma wasn’t sure she or Ellery ever would find it.

            As they pulled into the center of Storybrooke, Emma turned to Henry, “Okay kid, how about an address?”

            “44 not telling you street,” Henry answered, sounding as if he was proud of his cleverness.

            Emma stomped on the brakes, climbed out of the car, and slammed the door shut. One of the street lights above her shattered and sparked, but she didn’t pay attention to it, she was too angry. “Look, it’s been a long night, and it’s almost…eight-fifteen?” That clock couldn’t be right, unless…

            Henry’s response broke through her pondering and verified the thought she didn’t want to think, “That clock hasn’t moved my whole life. Time’s frozen here.”

            “Excuse me,” 8:14, it couldn’t be a coincidence that the clock was frozen at the exact moment she’d been found on the side of the road 28 years ago. It wasn’t a coincidence. Emma’s heart started racing, why now? Why on her…? The implications hit her all at once. It was her 28th Birthday. She was exactly where she’d always been told she would be, even if she didn’t want to be there. She couldn’t let one that she knew everything.

            Henry’s response to her question was exactly what she thought it would be, “The Evil Queen did it with her curse. She sent everyone from the Enchanted Forest here.”

            _Don’t let him know that you know Emma_ , she was proud of the incredulity in her voice, “Hang on. The Evil Queen sent a bunch of fairy tale characters here?”

            Henry nodded, “Yeah. And now they’re trapped.”

            Emma was proud of Henry’s deduction skills, he was a smart kid, but she was smart too. “Frozen in time, stuck in Storybrooke, Maine? That’s what you’re going with?”

            “It’s true!” Henry insisted desperately. He was right, it was all true. Every word of it.

            “Then why doesn’t everybody just leave?” Emma should have changed the subject and figured out a way to get Henry home so that she could leave. But she was curious as to how much Henry knew about the curse.

            “They can’t. If they try, bad things happen.” Henry’s response was vague, but it was exactly what Emma knew was true. Before she could probe more, however, a tall, thin man walking a Dalmatian came up to them.

            “Henry! What are you doing here? Is everything alright?” The man asked Henry as his dog nudged at Henry’s hands to be petted. Henry complied while answering the man’s queries.

            “I’m fine, Archie.”

            Archie looked up and noticed Emma, “Who’s this?”

            Emma didn’t feel like answering the many questions that were sure to come if she mentioned that she was Henry’s birth mother, “Just someone trying to give him a ride home.”

            Henry didn’t share Emma’s qualms, “She’s my birth mom, Archie.”

            Archie looked surprised at Henry’s revelation, “Oh, I see.”

            Emma felt uncomfortable as Archie stared at her, so she changed the subject, “You know where he lives?”

            Archie was visibly relieved by Emma’s question, “Oh, yeah sure, just, uh, right up on Mifflin Street; the Mayor’s house if the biggest one on the block.”

            Emma knew Ellery would have never run for Mayor, which meant something had gone wrong. “You’re the Mayor’s kid?”

            Henry scowled, “No! I am not her son! I just live with her.”

            Emma was taken aback at the venom in Henry’s tone. She wasn’t sure how to respond to his outburst because she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to bring up Ellery. Fortunately, Archie seemed familiar with the outburst and cut in, “Hey, where were you today Henry? Because you missed your session.”

            He was a shrink, her kid was seeing a shrink. It figured. Now if only Emma could figure out who the man had been before becoming a shrink.

            “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I went on a field trip.” Henry’s answer almost made Emma laugh. Henry’s ‘field trip’ had been unsanctioned and four hours out of town.

            Archie crouched down so he was eye to eye with the boy, “Henry, what’d I tell you about lying?” Henry hung his head and scuffed his toe on the ground, unable to look his shrink in the eye, “Giving into one’s dark side never accomplishes anything.”

            Emma was shocked, it had been over 12 years since she had heard that phrase, accompanied by an introduction to the phrase’s original speaker. Archie was Jiminy Cricket. But he wasn’t a cricket anymore, obviously. Emma needed to get Henry out of here before she called the man Jiminy, that wouldn’t go over well. And it certainly wouldn’t help in keeping Henry from figuring out that she knew about the curse. “O-kay! Well, I should get him home.”

            Archie nodded and waved goodbye to Henry before jogging off with his dog.

            “So, that’s your shrink?” Emma asked, smirking at Henry.

            “I’m not crazy,” Henry insisted desperately. Emma felt so badly that she almost told him everything, almost.

            Instead, she responded directly to directly to his statement, “Didn’t say that. Just – he doesn’t seem…cursed to me.” Except he did, and she knew he was. “Maybe he’s just trying to help you.”

            Henry sighed in exasperation, “He’s the one who needs help. Because he doesn’t know.” 

            Emma finished his statement, “That he’s a fairytale character.” Of course he didn’t know, that was the whole point of the curse.

            “None of them do. They don’t remember who they are.” Henry was obviously getting frustrated with having to explain everything to Emma.

            “Convenient,” Actually it was a brilliant move on the Evil Queen’s part. “Alright, I’ll play.” She ushered him back into the car, “Who’s he supposed to be?”

            “Jiminy Cricket,” The fact that Henry knew made Emma proud. He really was a smart kid.

            “Right, the lying thing. Thought your nose grew a little bit.” Except he was definitely not Pinocchio!

            Henry knew that, “I’m not Pinocchio!”

            Emma drove off in the direction Archie had pointed out to her, “Course you’re not. ‘Cause that would be ridiculous.” Because it would be, but his theory wasn’t.

* * *

 

            When they pulled up in front of the very impressive and incredibly imposing looking house on Mifflin Street, Henry was doing everything he could to convince her to take him anyplace else.

            “You could take me to my teacher’s apartment,” he begged, “Or to the Bed and Breakfast. Then I could not have to spend the night here.”

            Emma made the boy climb out of the Bug and started walking him towards the house, “Sorry kid.”

            “Please don’t take me back there.” Henry pleaded and once again Emma wondered what had happened to Ellery. Henry wouldn’t be this upset if she were around, Ellery would have been a fantastic mother.

            “I have to. I’m sure your mother is worried sick about you.” Emma knew Ellery would be worried sick if she knew Henry had disappeared.

            Henry’s response to Emma’s statement was very similar to his response from earlier that evening and it confused Emma, “She’s not my mom! She’s just my Foster parent, and she’s evil!”

            Why was Henry in Foster Care? It didn’t make any sense to Emma, “Why are you in Foster Care? I made sure that was never going to happen.”

            “It’s a long story,” Henry had stopped in the middle of the path leading up to the front door. “I’ve only been in Foster Care since right before my 7th Birthday. But my Foster Mom doesn’t love me, she’s just trying to hurt… never mind.”

            Emma wondered briefly who Henry had been about to name, but she was interrupted by the door to the house opening. Emma felt like she’d been punched in the gut, the woman who was rushing down the sidewalk towards them was The Evil Queen.

            “Henry, oh Henry,” The concern the Queen was showing towards Henry was fairly convincing, but Henry wasn’t convinced. He was limp when the Queen pulled him into a hug, “Are you okay? Where have you been? What happened?”

            Henry jerked away and glared angrily at the Evil Queen, “I found my birth mom! I won’t have to stay here much longer!” He pushed past the Queen and the man who had followed her out of the house, Emma assumed he was a police officer, and ran inside.

            “You’re Henry’s birth mother?” Emma felt a smug sense of satisfaction at the slightly fearful look that crossed the Evil Queen’s face, served her right for cursing an entire land.

            “Hi, I’m Emma Swan,” Emma needed a name from the Queen, she wasn’t ready to show her hand just yet.

            “Regina Mills, Henry’s Foster Mother,” Of course she would go by Regina here.

            “I’ll just go check on the lad, make sure he’s okay.” The man behind Regina sensed the awkwardness between the two women and obviously wanted to get as far from them as possible.

            “So, why is Henry in the Foster System?” Emma asked after the man went inside. _Instead of with Ellery?_

            Regina hesitated, “Why don’t you let me get you a glass of the best apple cider you’ve ever tasted and I’ll explain.”

            Emma hated apple cider, but she wasn’t about to reveal that piece of information to Regina, “Got anything stronger?”

            Regina chuckled and led the way into her house, “I think I can find something. Wait here while I get the glasses.”

            Emma looked around at the impeccably decorated foyer while she waited for Regina to come back. When  Regina walked back into the room carrying two glasses, Emma asked as Regina poured the drinks, “How did he find me?” If Regina knew the answer, her choice to keep her knowledge of the curse secret wouldn’t be valid anymore.

            But Regina didn’t know, which meant the curse was somehow protecting her identity, “I have no idea, when he moved in with me just over 3 years ago I was told that his birth mother had requested a closed adoption and his mother was unaware of your identity. Was I told wrong?”

            Emma shook her head, accepting the drink Regina offered her, “No, you were told right.” Ellery had a good reason for not revealing Emma’s identity and Emma wasn’t about to tell the Evil Queen anything. “Why isn’t he still with his adoptive parents?”

            “There’s only a mother,” Regina interjected, “And she had some psychological issues a few years ago and Henry was removed from her custody for his safety.”

            That was shocking and definitely not what Emma was expecting, Ellery had always been the most stable person she knew. Emma knew there was more to what had happened then what Regina was insinuating and she would hold her judgement until she’d had a chance to talk to Ellery herself, “I see…What did he mean when he told you that he wouldn’t have to live here much longer?” She took a sip of her drink and held back a grimace, she really hated apple cider, even with alcohol in it.

            “Henry has gotten it into his head that his birth mother can either gain custody of him or move him back to his mother’s custody.” Regina obviously thought he was wrong, he wasn’t. Emma had given him to Ellery because it would work exactly like Regina had just described. “What he doesn’t seem to understand that you gave up all rights to him when you gave him up.”

            “I see,” Emma have to bite her tongue to keep from telling Regina just how easy it would be to take custody of Henry.

            Regina must have seen through her simple phrase, “Do I need to worry about you, Miss Swan?”

            “Absolutely not.” Emma replied, but Regina absolutely did.

            Before any tension could grow between the Creator of the curse and the Savior, the sheriff walked down the stairs and come over to Regina. “Madam Mayor, you can relax. Other than being a tired little boy, Henry is fine. He’s getting ready for bed and calling his mother.”

            “Thank you, Sheriff.” Regina sighed and the Sheriff nodded in farewell before letting himself out of the house. Regina then turned her attention back on Emma, “I’m sorry he dragged you out of your life. I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately.

            Emma could tell Regina was trying to dismiss her, probably to stop Henry’s call, and she felt she owed it to Henry to delay Regina for as long as she could, “Kid’s having a rough time, it’s understandable. His whole life is up in the air and, as far as I can tell, he want nothing more than to find a reason for everything. Which is where his theory comes in.”

            “The one where I’m evil?” Regina let out a strained laugh, “I’m the one who took him in when his mother couldn’t. I’m also the one who has to keep him from staying with her more than two weekends a month like the courts have ordered. Does that make me evil?”

            “I’m sure he’s just saying that because of the fairytale thing.” Emma needed to make Regina believe that she didn’t, “And the fact that you’re just the easiest person to blame for his situation.”

            “What fairytale thing?” There was a sharp edge to Regina’s voice that proved that Regina definitely knew about the curse.

            “Oh you know, his book.” Which she was fairly certain Henry had left behind in her car, “How he thinks everyone’s a cartoon character from it. Like his shrink is Jiminy Cricket.”

            “I’m sorry,” Regina’s sincerity was forced, “I really have… no idea what you’re talking about.”

            It was probably a good thing that Henry had left the book in the Bug, “You know what, it’s really none of my business. He’s in your custody and I really should be heading back.” Or to Augusta at least, she would be coming back in the morning to find and talk to Ellery. But she needed to lull Regina into a false sense of security.

            “Of course,” Regina smirked and led Emma to the door, giving a false smile as a farewell. Emma returned the false smile and made her way to the old yellow Bug parked in front of Regina’s house. As she opened the door to climb into the car, she looked back up at the Mayor’s house to see Henry watching from an upstairs window while talking into what looked like a walkie-talkie. She waved and climbed into her car before driving back through the town the way she had come earlier.

            As she drove towards the town line, she glanced at the passenger seat and saw that Henry had indeed left his book on the seat. No doubt to try to make her stay in town. “Sneaky bastard,” she said, slightly proud of Henry’s manipulation skills. When she looked up, she was shocked to see a wolf with one black eye and one red eye standing in the middle of the road in front of her. She slammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid the wolf; she lost control of the car and it spun out of control, hitting the ‘Welcome to Storybrooke’ sign and hitting her head on the steering wheel. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was the storybook on the floor of the car opening to a picture of a very pregnant Snow White and her Prince Charming standing in front of a wardrobe carved from a tree.

* * *

 


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things to keep in mind: 1) Everything that happened in the Pilot flashbacks has happened in this story, except for the single fact that Snow was still pregnant. This means that Snow believes her husband to be dead. 2) We’re jumping into the middle of the story here, there’s a lot that happened between the prologue and the first chapter that won’t all be explained right off the back.   
> This chapter is dedicated to the Satan Squad on Tumblr because they are the best Tumblr friends a girl can have! Thanks so much guys!   
> Special thanks to my beta IUsed2bcool for reading this multiple times and just generally helping me talk out my plot. Especially when I’m stuck!

          As soon as Graham left to make his report to Regina, Henry picked up the walkie-talkie he’d gotten for his ninth birthday from his mom and pressed the talk button, “Come in, Mom, are you there?”

            Fifteen seconds later, the radio in his hand crackled to life, “Henry Neal, where have you been all day? I’ve been worried sick about you! Are you okay?”

            Henry felt really bad that he hadn’t told his mother where he’d gone, but he hadn’t wanted to get her in trouble. “I went to Boston to find her, and I did. I’m sorry I worried you.”

            His mother sighed heavily on the other end, “Found whom, Henry?”

            “Emma, Mom, you know my birth mother,” Henry answered, “Your…”

            His mother interrupted him, “Yeah, Henry, I do know. Why did you choose today of all days to go find her? And why did you have to go by yourself to Boston? Why didn’t you just call her?”

            Henry stood up and walked over to the window, “I wanted to be sure she came. So I made her bring me back. Besides, it’s her birthday, which makes it a great day to come to town.”

            Henry smiled when he heard his mother laugh, “Yeah it does, Monkey. What was her reaction to your showing up at her front door?”

            “She was shocked, Mom,” Henry responded, “But I think she liked me.”

            “Of course she did, Monkey,” Ellery assured him, “It’s impossible not to like you. Now, I want you to promise me that you won’t do something like this again. You could have gotten hurt Henry. And I wouldn’t have known how or where to find you.”

            “I’m sorry Mom,” Henry hung his head, “I just wanted to give you a great birthday gift.”

            “Henry, the best birthday gift you’ve ever given me was breakfast in bed. Remember five years ago? The best thing you could have given me this year would have been to meet me for dinner like you were supposed to. We were supposed to get an extra night together this month, and I don’t know that we’ll get that anymore.” Ellery reminded Henry.

            “I forgot about dinner, Mom, sorry. I’ll ask Regina to let us do dinner tomorrow,” Henry apologized, “It’s just that it’s your 28th Birthday, which means…” As Henry was talking, he saw Emma walking towards her car, “Mom, she’s leaving and I don’t know if she’s going to stay in town.”

            “It’ll be okay, Henry,” But Henry could hear that his mother didn’t quite believe the words she was telling him.

            “Mom she sees me,” Henry said as Emma turned and waved. “She’s waving goodbye. Mom, she’s the only chance we have of getting a judge to grant you custody of me again.” Henry could feel the panic beginning to settle in his chest.

            “Henry, breathe buddy. You’re okay.” His mom always knew what to say, “She’s not the only option we have. I’ve been doing great this last year and Dr. Hopper says he sees no reason why he would suggest, at our hearing in two months, that you stay with the Mayor any longer. You can survive living with the Mayor for two more months.”

            “Henry,” Regina’s voice sounded sharply from behind and almost made him drop the walkie-talkie, “It’s time for bed. Tell your mother goodnight and put the radio away.”

            “Goodnight, Mom, I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Henry said into his walkie-talkie before quickly turning it off and setting it on his bedside table.

            “No, you won’t,” Regina said sharply, “As a matter-of-fact, you’ll be very lucky if you see her at all this week. The stunt you pulled today was unacceptable.”

            “But we were supposed to get an extra day this week,” Henry argued, “And it’s my weekend with her.”

            “You should have thought about that before running off to Boston. Now get in bed and go to sleep.” Regina said, waiting until he had climbed into bed before turning off the light and closing the door. Henry waited until the door clicked shut before crying himself to sleep. 

* * *

 

            Across town, Mary Margaret Blanchard heard the sobs coming from the upstairs bedroom. Creeping silently up the stairs, she pushed her roommate’s door opened and peered curiously inside. The sight of roommate crying while clutching a walkie-talkie and the bedspread from her son’s bed broke the young schoolteacher’s heart and stirred and emotion that was both familiar and foreign to her. Crossing the room quickly, Mary Margaret knelt down by her roommate’s bed and gathered the young mother into her arms, murmuring nonsense until her roommate began to speak, words interspersed with broken sobs.

            “I can’t even put my own son to bed on my birthday, or any other day. It’s not fair, Mare. I didn’t do anything to deserve this, and Henry definitely doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve to be scared that he’ll never get to live with me again. He deserves to be happy.”

            “Oh sweetie,” Mary Margaret brushed an errant lock of blonde hair out of her roommate’s face as she spoke, “Neither of you deserve this, but there’s nothing we can do for two more months. You can both survive that. You know Henry loves you more than anything, Ellery. When it comes time for the judge to ask him where he wants to live, you know he’ll choose here in a heartbeat.”

            “I hope to be finished before then,” Ellery said, giving Mary Margaret a small smile, “Not that we don’t love living here, but it’s getting small and if Henry’s allowed back full time, it’ll get crowded. Even if he does continue to choose to sleep in the same bed as me six nights out of seven, he still needs his own room.”

            “I understand,” Mary Margaret said with a laugh, thinking of the many Saturday mornings she’d come upstairs to find Ellery and Henry curled up together on Ellery’s bed. “And you know I’d be more than happy to help with anything you need to get it finished.”

            “Thanks, Mare,” Ellery smiled again, “I’ll definitely take you up on that offer. We should both get to bed, it’s getting late.”

            Mary Margaret stood up off the floor and placed a hand on Ellery’s shoulder, “Good night Ellery. Sleep well.”

            As she made her way out of Ellery’s room and down the stairs she thought she heard Ellery whisper, “Good night, Mom, and thanks.” She was sure her ears were playing tricks on her. But that didn’t stop her heart from jumping inside her chest in that same familiar and yet foreign way she’d felt earlier.

            Ellery fell asleep that night thinking about how five years ago she had received the best birthday present she ever could receive.

* * *

 

~Five Years Earlier~

            “Nan, wake up,” Mary Margaret was woken up an hour earlier than normal by her roommate’s 5-year-old son’s insistent whispering and tugging at her arm.

            “What is it Henry?” She asked, peering over the edge of the bed into his big brown eyes.

            “It’s Mama’s birthday today Nan, and I want to make her breakfast in bed before she has to go to work and I have to go to school,” Henry was a very thoughtful little boy. “I need help though Nan, I’m not allowed to use the stove by myself.”

            “No Henry, you definitely cannot use the stove by yourself,” Mary Margaret sat up and swung her feet off the bed, “Let’s go make your mama some breakfast in bed.”

            “Thank you Nan!” Henry said, throwing his arms around her legs, his head barely coming to her stomach. Mary Margaret’s heart fluttered as it always did when Henry hugged her and called her Nan.

            When Henry was a baby and just learning to speak, Ellery had suggested that Henry call Mary Margaret, Nan; since she had been abundantly kind to Ellery and had acted like a mother to the single, teenaged mother who was barely able to make ends meet before meeting Mary Margaret, plus Nan was easier to say than Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret had found it funny at first, but now she didn’t know how she’d react if Henry one day decided he didn’t want to call her Nan anymore.

            Henry’s insistent tugging at her sleeve reminded Mary Margaret of the mission they were undertaking. Smiling down at the boy who she considered family, Mary Margaret led the way into the kitchen where Henry had already pulled out almost everything she would need to make pancakes, eggs, and bacon. “Good job Henry, I’m impressed you remembered what we need to make pancakes, eggs, and bacon.”

            Henry grinned proudly, “Well that’s Mama’s favorite breakfast and you always let me help makes it. So of course I remember.”

            Henry remembered everything when it came to his mother and Mary Margaret. Sometimes she and Ellery thought he was much older than five. “Of course you remember Henry. You’re smart.”

            Henry nodded, “I am smart! Mama says so too.”

            Mary Margaret chuckled as she began measuring out the ingredients for the pancakes and handing them to Henry to pour into the mixing bowl. When the batter was ready, she poured it onto the griddle and then cracked six more eggs into a bowl to stir for scrambled eggs. While she was doing this, Henry started putting together a tray to carry up to his mother. The day before he had picked a bunch of wildflowers for Ellery, which she had then put in a vase on the counter, Henry placed the vase in the center of the tray and put a napkin with a fork and knife next to it. He then went to the fridge and carefully pulled the orange juice out. Then, under the watchful eye of his Nan, he poured the orange juice into a glass for his mother.

            “Nan, don’t forget the hot chocolate,” Henry said gravely as he went over to his backpack, which was by the front door, and pulled out a card he had made for her in school.

            “Don’t worry Henry,” Mary Margaret said, nodding to the saucepan of milk that was already sitting on the stove. “The milk will be ready in just a minute. The rest of the food is almost ready too.”

            Within five minutes, Mary Margaret was dishing the pancakes, eggs, and bacon onto three plates and placing one on the tray to go upstairs. “Alright Henry, I’ll carry the tray upstairs and then you can carry it into your room to wake your mom up. Okay?”

            Henry nodded enthusiastically before bounding ahead of Mary Margaret up the stairs to the room he shared with his mother. When Mary Margaret reached the top of the stairs, she carefully handed the tray to Henry, making sure it was balanced in his hands before letting go and removing the drinks from the tray. Henry’s brow was furrowed in concentration as he walked into the bedroom where Ellery was still fast asleep.

            “Happy Birthday Mama,” Henry said excitedly as he neared the bed. Ellery opened her eyes and yawned, looking at Henry and Mary Margaret dazedly for a moment until she realized her five-year-old son was holding a tray with flowers and food on it.

            Then she kicked into Mom-mode, “Thank you Henry, that food looks delicious.” She said while removing the tray from her son’s hands.

            “Nan helped me make it for you,” Henry said, smiling adoringly up at his mother.

            Mary Margaret was struck once again by the look on his face. Henry saw his mother as the most important thing in his world, and she saw him as the same. Mary Margaret had watched the two of them for over five years and it never ceased to amaze her how much they loved each other. Ellery would do anything for her son and Henry was always trying to make his mama happy. Mary Margaret was exceedingly grateful that they had allowed her into their little world.

            “Did Nan only make me breakfast?” Ellery asked, “Or did she make enough for everyone?” Ellery knew Mary Margaret always made enough for all of them.

            “Nana and me have plates downstairs.” Henry said, going over and taking the hot chocolate from Mary Margaret, “There’s hot cocoa too, with cinnamon!”

“Is there any other way to drink it?” Emma teased, taking the proffered drink from her son, “Do you and Nan want to join me in bed for breakfast?”

            Henry eyes grew wide and he nodded before clambering up into the bed and snuggling next to his mother. Ellery looked up at Mary Margaret in invitation. Mary Margaret laughed before setting the glass of orange juice on the bedside table next to Ellery, “I’ll go get our plates and drinks, then I’d be happy to join you.”

            As Mary Margaret walked down the stairs to get her and Henry’s plates and drinks, she listened to the sounds of Henry’s giggles as Ellery teased him and she was happy that her little family, though unconventional, was able to celebrate Ellery’s birthday together. She hoped they would always be able to celebrate birthdays like this. Little did she know how much would change in just two-and-a-half short years.

* * *

 

~Present Day~

            The first thing Emma realized when she started to regain consciousness was that she definitely wasn’t in her bed at home, the second thing she realized was that her head was pounding, the third thing was that someone was whistling the dwarves song from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” it was this realization that forced her to open her eyes. She was in a jail cell. In the cell next to her was Grumpy. The events of the night before suddenly came flooding back to her and she groaned, drawing Grumpy’s attention to her.

            “What are you looking at sister?” Grumpy stopped whistling and glared at Emma.

            “Leroy, manners,” Emma’s attention was drawn to the office outside the cell where an old man who Emma recognized as Geppetto was fixing something, “We have a guest. So you are, eh, Henry’s birth mother. How lovely for him to have you back in his life. He needs something good in his life right now, his mother has tried, but she has gone through some very hard times lately.”

            “Or she’s just pretending that she’s having a hard time to get rid of him.” Leroy said, sounding very much like his Enchanted Forest counterpart, “I don’t blame her, they’re all brats, who needs ‘em?”

            “Well I’d give anything for one,” Geppetto responded, which made Emma wonder what had happened to his son when the curse hit. “My wife and I, we tried for many years, but, uh, it was not meant to be.”

            “Well cry me a river,” Leroy said, uninterested in Geppetto’s story.”

            “Leroy!” The sheriff entered the office and looked at the dwarf warningly, “I’m going to let you out, you need to behave.” He unlocked the cell door and held it open, “Put on a smile, and stay out of trouble.”

            Leroy gave the sheriff a false smile as he exited the cell and then the sheriff’s station. Emma felt slightly sorry for the dwarf who had once been her mother’s staunchest supporter in the Enchanted Forest. However, she had more pressing issues to deal with at the moment, like getting herself out of jail. Looking straight at the sheriff, she raised an eyebrow, “Seriously?”

            The sheriff shrugged, “Regina’s drinks; a little stronger than we thought.”

            Emma had barely drunk one mouthful of the vile tasting apple cider, “I wasn’t drunk; there was a wolf, standing in the middle of the road.” Which sounded incredibly ridiculous now that she said it aloud.

            Apparently the sheriff thought so too, “A wolf. Right.”

            Before Emma could refute the sheriff’s disbelief, Regina’s voice came from outside in the hall, “Graham? Henry’s run away again, we have to…” She trailed off as she came into the office and saw Emma in the jail cell, “What is she doing here? Do you know where he is?” This last question was directed at Emma.

            Who was already frustrated in her situation and didn’t have time to deal with the Mayor’s ridiculous accusations, “Lady, I haven’t seen him since I dropped him at your house and,” she motioned at the bars keeping her in the cell, “I have a pretty good alibi.”

            “And who are you?” A young woman with light brown hair who had entered with Regina asked, pushing her green rimmed glasses up on her nose.

            “Emma Swan,” Emma said nodding towards the woman in greeting, “I’m Henry’s birth mother.”

            “The one he went to Boston to find yesterday?” The woman asked and when Emma nodded slowly in confusion she smiled, “Mayor Mills filled me in on the way here. I’m Olivia Nettles, Henry’s social worker. Regina called me when she realized Henry had run off again.”

            “Did you try his friends?” Emma inquired, thankful that her training as a bail bondsman would come in handy while looking for her son.

            “He doesn’t really have friends,” Regina responded, “He’s kind of a loner.”

            “Every kid has friends,” Emma responded, even she’d had a few friends as a kid. “Did you check his computer? If he was close to someone, he’d be emailing them.”

            “And you know this how?” Regina questioned testily.

            “Finding people’s what I do,” Emma responded, “Here’s an idea: how ‘bout you guys let me out and I’ll help you find him?”

            “That’s not a bad idea,” Olivia piped up, subsequently cowering under the glare Regina directed her way.

            Regina reluctantly agreed that Emma was correct, “Fine, Sheriff, let her out.”

            Graham did as the Mayor said, and Emma smiled gratefully at him and Olivia when she walked out of the cell. “Lead the way Madam Mayor.”

            Regina’s lips pursed into an angry sneer and she turned and led the way to her house without another word. The four of them made their way into the bedroom and Emma made note of the knitted blanket which was folded carefully on the pillow. After Regina unlocked the computer, Emma quickly pulled up Henry’s email.

            “Smart kid, he cleared his inbox.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a USB stick, “I’m smart too; a little hard disk recovery utility I like to use.”

            As the tool went to work recovering Henry’s emails, Graham commented, “I’m a bit more old fashioned in my techniques. Pounding the pavement, knocking on doors; that sort of thing”

            “You’re on salary, I get paid on delivery,” Emma said as the emails began coming up, “Pounding the pavement is not a luxury that I get. Ah, there’s a receipt for a website, whosyourmomma.org – it’s expensive. He has a credit card?”

            “He’s ten,” Regina said as if that explained everything.

            “To my knowledge he has no way to pay for anything online,” Olivia spoke up.

            “Well he used on. Let’s pull up a transaction record.” Emma said, pulling up the credit card information. The name on the card made her heart skip a beat and she had to weigh her words carefully so as not to give anything away, “Mary Margaret Blanchard, who’s Mary Margaret Blanchard?”

            “Henry’s teacher,” Regina answered, her mouth set in an angry line.

            “And his mother’s roommate,” Olivia offered.

            More pieces were falling into place, “Which would be why Henry begged me to take him to his teacher’s apartment instead of to Regina’s house.”

            Olivia giggled, “That sounds like Henry. And knowing his mother, Ellery would have called me and begged that he be allowed to stay. Which I would have allowed on account of the extra day they were supposed to have this week.”

            “We should go talk to Miss Blanchard,” Regina interrupted, walking out of the room and leaving the other three no choice but to follow her.

            The sense of dread, which Emma had first felt when she’d read Mary Margaret Blanchard’s name, grew as they got closer and closer to the school. Graham had left the three women outside of the Mayor’s house, claiming he had some paperwork to finish up back at the station. Emma hadn’t missed the slight blush on Olivia’s cheeks when Graham wished her good day, nor the way Olivia had longingly looked after him as he drove away.

            When they walked into Henry’s classroom, Emma stopped short. Even knowing what she was about to face hadn’t helped her prepare for seeing her mother again after 12 long years. She couldn’t take her eyes off the woman who had raised her until she’d run away at sixteen. She barely registered Regina asking if her mother had given Henry the credit card. Instead, she was silently mourning the loss of her mother’s long curls. They had been her mother’s favorite feature and Regina had forced her to chop them off.

            Mary Margaret looking at her and asking, “I’m sorry, who are you?” caused Emma to focus on the moment at hand.

            But she still wasn’t able to form words yet, “I’m-I’m his…” There were so many things that Emma wanted to say, but couldn’t because her mother was no longer fully herself.

            “She’s Henry’s birth mother,” Olivia stepped in.

            Mary Margaret’s eyes widened in a form of recognition that Emma couldn’t quite place, “Of course I see it now.”

            What she saw wasn’t that Henry looked like her though, because he didn’t. It was obvious Mary Margaret didn’t know anything about the credit card, “You don’t know anything about this, do you?”

            Mary Margaret pulled out her purse and began searching through her wallet, “No, unfortunately not.” When she didn’t find the credit card, she smiled indulgently, “Clever boy. I never should have given him that book. Ellery warned me that he’d take it too far.”

            “What in the hell is this book I keep hearing about?” Regina snapped.

            “Yes, what book is it?” Olivia asked, concern furrowing her brow, “Is it anything I need to be worried about?”

            “It’s just some old stories his mother and I used to read to him.” Mary Margaret smiled, “As you both well know, Henry is a special boy: so smart, so creative, and, as you might be aware, lonely. I thought something from home would help, and I was right. He needed it.”

             “What he needs is a dose of reality. This is a waste of time. Have a nice trip back to Boston, Miss Swan.” Regina scowled and turned to the social worker, “Miss Nettles, I suggest we discuss the visitation schedule.” She stormed out of the classroom, knocking over a stack of books on the way. Olivia smiled sorrowfully at Emma and Mary Margaret before hurrying after Regina.

            Mary Margaret crouched down and began to pick up the books. Emma, wanting to spend more time with her mother no matter the personality or memories, crouched down to help her. “Sorry to bother you.”

            Mary Margaret smiled, “No, it’s okay. I fear it’s partially my fault.”

            Well this was unexpected and she was curious as to why this version of her mother had believed the book was helpful, “How’s a book supposed to help him?”

             “What do you think stories are for?” Mary Margaret smiled at her as she picked up the last of the books, “These stories? The classics? There’s a reason we know them. They’re a way for us to deal with our world; a world that doesn’t always make sense. See, Henry hasn’t always had the easiest life.”

            They had finished picking up the books and had left the classroom, as they walked down the hall, Emma asked, “Yeah, why is he with Regina anyway?”

            Mary Margaret stuttered, “Umm, I shouldn’t. I know who you are, but it’s not my story to tell. It’s Ellery’s. Look, I gave the book to him because I wanted Henry to have the most important thing anyone can have; hope. Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing.”

            Emma had heard as much more times in her childhood than she could count, but she knew Mary Margaret was being cryptic with her, “You know where he is, don’t you?”

            Mary Margaret smiled, “I don’t, but I know who will. You’ll want to talk to his mother. She owns the Toy Story on Main Street.”

* * *

 

~13 Years Earlier~

            “Emma Ruth Blanchard, you know Saturdays are reserved for training sessions. You cannot go out on Saturday.” Snow White said loudly as she stormed into the kitchen, her fifteen-year-old daughter close behind.

            “Mom, it is one Saturday,” Emma said exasperatedly, “It’s not like I’m asking to stop training! Though I would be fine with never having to train again.” Emma mumbled the last sentence angrily.

            “You are NOT stopping our training sessions young lady!” Snow White said, glaring at her daughter, “We only have twelve more years before you’re supposed to break the curse, we can’t waste any time. I am not about to let you fight the final battle without making sure you are adept at using as many weapons as possible.”

            “What if I don’t want to break the curse Mom?” Emma asked, “What if I don’t want to be the Savior?”

            “You don’t have a choice young lady,” Snow said, “You are the Savior whether you want to be or not. And you have to break the curse. Your father and your godmother and everyone else is counting on you.”

            “But I don’t want everyone to count on me!” Emma said, her voice quivering, “Why can’t everyone just rely on Ellery?”

            “Leave me out of this,” Ellery said from the kitchen table where she was doing her homework, “Mom and Dad gave Rumpelstilskin your name, not mine.”

            “Only because they didn’t know about you yet,” Emma shot back, sticking her tongue out at her sister.

            “Yeah, but at least I broke the curse on Mom and Aunt Red so that Mom could leave the town where the curse took everyone. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here right now Emma!” Ellery snapped back, sticking her tongue out at Emma.

            “Girls, stop it now!” Snow snapped.

            “I wish you weren’t here,” Emma muttered towards Ellery, “Then at least I wouldn’t have to worry about training sessions.”

            “Emma Ruth,” Snow gasped, “That was uncalled for!”

            Ellery was silent and Snow could see the tears filling Ellery’s eyes. Ellery stood up from the table, “I’m going to my room.”

            “El,” Snow said, trying to stop the younger of her twins from leaving the room, “Don’t go. Emma, apologize, now!”

            “Don’t worry about it Mom,” Ellery said, “It’s no big deal, I’m fine.”

            Ellery left Emma and Snow alone in the kitchen. Snow glared at her older twin, “Emma, I cannot believe what you just said to your sister.”

            “I meant it!” Emma snapped, “I wish she hadn’t broken your curse and that you were still trapped by Regina!”

            “So you’d rather be in Foster Care, not knowing who you really are?” Snow asked, “Emma, sweetheart…”

            “Yeah Mom,” Emma yelled, “I wish you had never had your curse broken and that I didn’t know I was the Savior! I wish I didn’t know you or Ellery at all!”

            Snow could only stare after Emma as she stormed out of the apartment, slamming the front door behind her. Snow was sure Emma would calm down and come back later that day and Snow would apologize. But Emma didn’t return that day or the next. The day after that, Snow reported Emma’s disappearance to the police and local media. For weeks Snow and Ellery searched for Emma, but they couldn’t find her. She had disappeared.

            Years later, Emma would look back at this moment and regret everything she’d said. She would apologize to Ellery less than a year later, but Snow would disappear after about two months and Emma would wish she’d had a chance to apologize and thank her for the survival skills she’d been forced to learn.

* * *

 

~Present Day~

            The last time Emma had seen her mother before she ran away, the words she’d spoken had been terrible. All she wanted to do now was apologize, but because she’d run away from home in the heat of the moment, Regina had been able to find and re-curse Snow.

            When she reached the Toy Store on Main Street, Emma stopped at the front door, unable to face yet another figure from her past. As she tried to convince herself that going inside the shop was a good idea, Regina stormed out of the shop followed by Olivia.

            “Miss Swan, I do hope you won’t be sticking around much longer,” Regina snapped, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a town to run.”

            Emma rolled her eyes as Regina walked away and Olivia smiled, “So are you going to leave town?”

            “No,” Emma shook her head, “at least not yet. I’m going to talk to Henry’s adoptive mother; I figure she may at least have an idea of where the kid might be.”

            “And she’s more likely to tell family,” Olivia said, laughing at the shocked look on Emma’s face, “It wasn’t that hard to figure out. Besides, Ellery and I have been friends for years and she’s told me multiple times that she adopted her twin sister’s kid.”

            Emma laughed, “Well at least she mentioned me to someone, I’m not sure Henry knows the truth.”

            Olivia laughed, “Oh, he definitely knows. I’m fairly certain he’s known that piece of information since before he could talk. You should go in there, she’s gonna need someone to cry to. I had to agree to Regina’s request that she get to control Ellery and Henry’s visitation schedule; I don’t know how she has such pull with the judges in this town. Anyway, she told Ellery that as a punishment for his running off yesterday and today, Henry doesn’t get his scheduled visits with her this week. They can still see each other, but not alone and not for very long. I could tell it devastated her. I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t allowed to see my Claire. She’s my daughter, she’s six.”

            “I see,” Emma said, slightly overwhelmed by the influx of information, “I’m going to head inside not to see if I can help in any way. It was nice meeting you.”

            “It was nice meeting you,” Olivia said smiling and handing Emma a business card, “If you ever want to talk about Henry’s custody arrangement, feel free to give me a call.”

            “I will,” Emma said, watching as Olivia walked off down the street. Then, with one last deep breath, Emma pushed open the door of the toy store and stepped inside.

* * *

 

 


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I apologize for the late update. My family went out of town for the weekend and got home 4 hours after we were supposed to get home and then FF wouldn't let me upload any files for some strange reason. But I finally figured something out so I'm only a day late! Hopefully I can get chapter 4 up on time next week! This is the last chapter written back in 2013, so starting next week the writing style may change just a little bit, but I've worked really hard to make the transition as seamless as possible!
> 
> This is dedicated to the Squad, of course! You guys make me laugh and are the best support system a girl could ask for! I am so glad we get to talk as much as we do!
> 
> Special thanks to my beta IUsed2bcool for giving me so many great suggestions on how to make the conversation between Ellery and Emma more organic. Special thanks also to sassyoq for doing beta work also! I don't know what I've done to deserve such great betas! Love you both!

The bell above the door jingled as Emma walked into the Toy Store. She looked around at all the toys and books arranged in cubbies and shelves along the pale blue walls. The shop was empty, which surprised Emma since Regina and Olivia had supposedly just been in there talking to Ellery. “Hello?” She called as she walked further into the shop, looking for Ellery.

            “Hold on a minute,” Ellery’s voice came from the back of the shop, Emma could hear the quiver in her sister’s tone. Ellery came out into the shop, looking down at her phone as she walked, “Welcome to Enchanted Toys, how can I …Emma?”

            Emma smiled at Ellery as her sister looked up and noticed her. Despite the fact that Emma hadn’t seen her sister since she’d given birth ten years ago, Emma felt like no time at all had passed and her sister’s answering smile prompted her to greet Ellery, “Hey Sis, how’s it going?”

            Ellery raised an eyebrow in Emma’s direction, “Really, Emma? We haven’t seen each other in ten years and the first thing you say to me is how’s it going?”

            “It doesn’t feel like it’s been ten years,” Emma laughed.

            Ellery smiled at her sister, “Good point!” She walked over and hugged her sister, “It’s good to see you, Emma. I’ve missed you.”

            Emma gladly returned her sister’s hug, “I’ve missed you too, Ellery.”

            Ellery pulled back and looked Emma up and down, “You look great Em! The last time I saw you, you were still wearing glasses. I like you without them!”

            “And you’re still wearing glasses. I like the lavender frames,” Emma remarked, “It must be why no one has recognized me as your twin!”

            “That or the curse is keeping anyone from seeing that we’re related.” Ellery spoke the true reason wryly, “But in all seriousness Sis, Henry said you were leaving town, are you?”

            “At the moment I’m looking for Henry,” Emma replied, “I had planned to leave town last night and then come back to talk to you today, but I hadn’t made any plans past that. I definitely didn’t come here to be the Savior; I’m not sure I’m ready.”

            Ellery hopped up on the counter and looked at her sister steadily, “Whether you’re ready to be the Savior or not, you’re here now and you are.”

            Emma sighed, “Only because of Henry and I’m only here because he ran away again.”

            “Yeah, I know. Regina just came in and told me,” Ellery sniffed to hold back tears, “She also, somehow, figured out a way to get control of our visitation. Which, of course, means that I will be lucky if I get to spend time alone with my son at all during the next two months.”

            “I’m sure Regina won’t keep him from you for two months,” Emma assured her sister, “She’s not unreasonable.”

            “Just evil and out to keep everyone in this town from being happy,” Ellery said in frustration, “I’ll be lucky to run into my son at all. And the worst part of all of this is that, when Regina tells him that the visitation schedule has changed and our weekend has been cancelled, she’ll find a way to make it my fault. She does everything in her power to drive a wedge between Henry and me and I’m afraid that one day it’s actually going to work.”

            “I don’t think that’ll happen,” Emma said, “Henry seemed very loyal to you.”

            “Still, Regina is going to be the only one who gets to tell him what’s going on,” Ellery moaned, resting her chin on her fist, “And the longer Regina can’t find him, the longer she’ll take it out on me; even though I haven’t seen him since last week and I haven’t heard from him since last night.”

            “So you have no idea where he is?” Emma asked.

            Ellery smiled and picked up the walkie-talkie sitting on the counter, “I have a few ideas, but I know one way I can find out for sure.” Pressing the talk button, she called her son, “Come in, Monkey, Mom calling.”

            “Monkey?” Emma questioned, biting back a laugh.

            “When he was about 8 months old, he learned how to climb and he’s loved climbing ever since.” Ellery explained, “Mom called him monkey one day when she found him climbing the stairs even though there was a baby gate up, and the nickname stuck. He acts like he hates it sometimes, but I don’t know that I’ll ever stop calling him Monkey.”

            “What’s going on, Mom?” Henry’s voice crackled through the radio.

            “What are you doing, Henry?” Ellery asked.

            “Sitting on the playground at recess,” Henry said tentatively.

            “Really, Monkey? Then can I talk to Mare please?” Ellery tried to get Henry to admit he wasn’t at school.

            “Umm, Nan’s inside right now,” Henry didn’t lie very well.

            “Two things, Buddy,” Ellery said, “One: You’re a terrible liar, you always have been. Two: Regina, Olivia, Mary Margaret, and Emma have all told me that no one knows where you are.”     

            “Emma’s still in town?”  Henry sounded excited at the prospect and Emma felt her heart skip a beat.

            “Yes,” Ellery assured her son, “but that’s not an answer Henry Neal White.”

            “I plead the fifth, Mom,” Henry said, “I’m not going back.”

            “You don’t have a choice, Henry,” Ellery sighed exasperatedly.

            “Yes I do!” Henry shot back, “I’m going to stay hidden until they let me go home!”

            Ellery closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip, “Monkey, that’s not going to work, and you know that. What time did you run off this morning?”

            “Four, I think.” He mumbled, “I couldn’t sleep. So I ran off.”

            “Henry, did you have a nightmare?” Ellery asked concernedly. “Why didn’t you call me or come over?”

            “I didn’t want to worry you again,” He said apologetically.

            “Well, you’re kind of worrying me right now,” Ellery replied, “So can you please tell me where you are?”

            “Will you come get me?” Henry asked.

            Ellery sighed, “You know I can’t, Monkey, but I can send Emma.”

            Henry sighed, “Alright, fine! I’m at our castle, Mom.”

            “Thanks buddy,” Ellery said, “Emma’ll be there in a few minutes.”

            Emma smiled at Ellery as the latter placed the radio back on the counter, “Where’s this castle?”

            Ellery gave her sister directions to the castle playground her son loved to frequent. As Emma turned to leave, Ellery called out, “Emma, remind him that I love him.”

            “He knows you do, Sis,” Emma smiled at Ellery, “But I’ll be sure to tell him.”

            Before she exited the shop, Emma stopped one last time and turned around, “Ellery, I may not be comfortable with being the Savior yet, but I don’t regret being here. It really is good to see you again and I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you chose to take Henry when I insisted I couldn’t raise him. El, what happened?”

            “It was the best decision I ever made,” Ellery smiled softly, “But, can we have this conversation at a later date? I need to know Henry is safe.”

            “You got it,” Emma agreed, “I’ll get him to safety and then we can talk.”

* * *

 

            When Emma pulled up in front of the wooden castle, she could see that Henry was upset and looking worriedly at the clock tower. She picked up his storybook and walked over to the castle. Climbing up behind Henry, she sat down and handed him the book, “You left this in my car. Still hasn’t moved, huh?”

            Henry sighed and shook his head, “I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here. That the final battle would begin.”

            “I’m not here to fight any battles, kid,” Emma said. At least she didn’t want to fight any battles.

            “Yes, you are. You’re here because it’s your destiny,” Henry insisted, “You’re going to bring back the happy endings.”

            She hated being told that breaking the curse was her destiny, “Can you cut it with the book crap?”

            “You don’t have to be hostile,” Henry smiled at Emma, “I know you like me, I can tell. You’re just…pushing me away because I make you feel guilty. It’s okay, I know why you gave me away. You wanted to give me my best chance and you knew my best chance was with your sister.”

            “So you know your mom is my sister, huh?” Emma asked, “And how do you know that’s why I gave you away?”

            “Yes of course I know you two are sisters,” Henry rolled his eyes, “And it’s the same reason Snow White gave you away.”

            “And what about Ellery?” Emma asked, knowing there was no mention of her sister anywhere in the book. “Listen to me, kid. I am not in any book. I’m a real person. And I’m no Savior.” At least she really didn’t want to be the Savior, “You were right about one thing though: I wanted you to have your best chance. And my sister was, and still is, definitely your best chance, it has never been with me. And your best chance at getting back home now is by doing what Regina and Olivia tell you to do. C’mon, let’s go.”

            “Please don’t take me back there!” Henry begged, “Just stay with me for one week, that’s all I ask! One week, and you’ll see I’m not crazy. And you can tell Olivia that my Mom is better for me than Regina.”

            Emma sighed, “I’ll tell you what kid, I won’t take you back to the Mayor’s house yet. Instead, we’ll stop by and surprise your Mom.”

            Henry’s eyes grew wide and he grinned broadly, “Really? Are you serious?”

            Emma chuckled, “Yeah, Henry, I’m serious. Your Mom was a little down earlier and she wanted me to tell you that she loves you, but we’ll give her the chance to tell you herself.”

            Henry nodded and grabbed Emma’s hand, “Let’s go!”

* * *

 

            Henry was vibrating in excitement and Emma was fairly certain he would have pushed the car himself if he thought it would get them to the shop faster. When they pulled up in front of Enchanted Toys, Henry bolted out of the car before Emma could get her seatbelt off. “Hold up for just a second, kid.”

            Henry stopped short, visibly trembling with excitement as he looked back at Emma, “What do you want?”

            “I just don’t want you to scare her by running in suddenly.” Emma said as she caught up to Henry, “Why don’t we walk in together?”

            “Alright,” Henry said, opening the door and walking into the store with Emma behind him.

            “Welcome to Enchanted Toys,” Ellery called from somewhere in the back of the store, “I’ll be right out.”           

            “It’s just me again, Sis,” Emma called, winking at Henry, “I realized that yesterday was our birthday and I didn’t get you anything before coming to town, so I thought I’d bring you something special today.”

            “You didn’t have to get me anything,” Ellery called as she walked into the store, “Just tell me that Henry…” She stopped short when she spotted her son standing next to her sister.

            “Hi, Mom!” Henry grinned as he bounced in place next to Emma, “Surprise!”

            “Get over here, Monkey,” Ellery said, holding her arms out for her little boy.

            Henry needed no further invitation and ran over to throw his arms around his mother. “I’m sorry I missed our extra visit last night, Mom. I’ll make it up to you this weekend, I promise.”

            Ellery sighed and crouched down so she wasn’t looking down at her son. Rubbing her hands up and down Henry’s arms she said sadly, “Henry, we don’t get visitation this weekend.”

            “Why not?” He asked, surprised, “This is our weekend.”

            “I know, Monk,” Ellery soothed, “But Regina convinced Social Services that she should be able to stop our visits if you do things like, I don’t know, run off.”

            Henry hung his head, “I wasn’t thinking when I went to find Emma and I couldn’t stay there when I woke up. I was really scared and upset.”

            Ellery pulled Henry in for a hug, “You should have called me, Monkey. You can always call me when you’re scared. I would rather be exhausted and worried for you than to have you go through your nightmares alone. You are so much more important to me than anything else in the world.”

            Henry clutched his mother, “I don’t want to lose our weekend, Mom! Isn’t there something you can do?”

            “No there’s not.” Ellery said, kissing Henry’s forehead, “I wish I could do something, but Regina’s already said we’re not getting this weekend.”

            Henry pulled back slightly, “Emma can do something, can’t she?”

            “Whoa kid,” Emma said from where she’d been watching and listening to the conversation, “I’m not quite sure I’m staying. I have a life to get back to.”

            Ellery glared at Emma and said in a sickly-sweet tone of voice, “We can’t ask Emma to leave her life behind, Monkey.”

            “But she’s the Savior, Mom,” Henry insisted, “She has to stay and break the curse.”

            “Henry!” Ellery said sharply, “What have I said to you about the curse?”

            “That I need to stop insisting that it’s real,” Henry scuffed his feet as he spoke, “But, Mom, it is real. Nan is Snow White and Regina’s the Evil Queen.”

            Ellery closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “Maybe it is real, Monkey, but you can’t go around saying that it is. We can’t afford to have Dr. Hopper thinking that we believe in a curse. Because if he thinks we believe in a curse then he won’t be able to tell the judge that he thinks you should live with me again.”

            “I guess,” Henry sighed, “But isn’t there something Emma can do to help _us_?”

            “Why don’t you let your mom and I talk alone for a few minutes, kid?” Emma broke in.

            “Yeah,” Ellery agreed, standing up, “Why don’t you go grab a snack from the back room?”

            Henry nodded and hugged his mother once more before disappearing into the back of the store. Ellery and Emma stood facing each other silently for a long moment. If anyone else had entered the store, they would have thought they were seeing double, almost. Ellery and Emma were identical even after ten years, save for the glasses Ellery wore and Emma didn’t. Even their clothing was the same since Emma had shed her leather jacket and left it in her car.

            Emma finally broke the silence, “So you used to read him the stories, but you never told him they were real?”

            Ellery laughed, “Something like that. When he was little, he would play Prince Charming and insisted everything in the book was real. I’d planned to tell him everything when he turned ten, but then things changed and I decided to wait. I wasn’t going to let him have the book, I was hoping he would forget about the curse, but then Mom brought it to him without consulting me and Henry latched onto the curse idea and hasn’t stopped talking about it since.”

            “So how did he figure out I was the Savior then?” Emma asked curiously, “You aren’t in the book. It doesn’t even mention the fact that I have a twin since no one knew about you in the Enchanted Forest.”

            “I don’t know, Em,” Ellery sighed exasperatedly, “Maybe the curse decided to lead him to you so you can break it. Or maybe he just never thought about the fact that we’re sisters and that we obviously grew up together. All I know right now is that I have to lie to my son until I can regain and keep custody of him.”

            “It doesn’t seem like he’s going to stop trying to convince us that it’s true though, Ellery,” Emma stated, “Nothing I said to him last night or earlier today convinced him that he shouldn’t talk about the curse.”

            “As long as we don’t let on that we know,” Emma posited, pacing up and down in front of the counter, “As long as Regina doesn’t think Henry’s theories hold any danger to her curse, then we should be safe. But that means that if you stay, you have got to have a reason other than your destiny. And you have to stay Emma, because if you leave, she’ll find a way to keep Henry. She’ll win.”

            “I’m sure she won’t be able to keep custody of him,” Emma assured her twin, “Even if she does hold some sway over the judge, you’re his mother and I’m sure the judge will take that into consideration.” 

            “You’re underestimating her, Em, and that’s dangerous. She cursed an entire land to this town to destroy our mother’s happiness!” Ellery hissed, “She is in control of everyone, Emma. She will make the judge believe that I am unfit to be Henry’s mother because if I am happy, Mom is happy. She will do anything she has to in order to be victorious and destroy our happiness.”

            “And how am I supposed to stop her from doing any of that?” Emma cried in frustration, “How am I supposed to keep her from winning?”

            “By staying in town,” Ellery said, tears rolling down her cheeks. “You are his birth mother and I need you to stay to help me convince the judge that Henry is safe living with me. Please stay, Emma, please!”

            Emma sighed, “I can’t stay with you, not since you live with Mom; at least not yet. I have to wrap my head around the fact that she’s two separate people and doesn’t know she’s our Mom. How have you done it for 10 years?”

            “It’s not that difficult,” Ellery smiled, “She’s a lot like Mom in all the ways that really matter and any time she’s around me and Henry her Mary Margaret persona and her Snow White persona blend together. Of course, I have to remind myself daily that I can’t call her Mom, at least not seriously. Sometimes I slip up and say it in jest.”

            “Well I’m not used to it yet,” Emma said snappishly, “So you’ll have to tell me where the nearest hotel is.”

            “Augusta,” Ellery replied cheekily, “We don’t have a hotel in town. Granny and Aunt Red own a quaint little Inn behind their diner though. Obviously no one ever stays there, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get a room. After you take Henry home of course, Regina can’t see me with him.”

            Emma looked at the clock, “Yeah, I should probably get him home. Henry, we need to go!”

            Henry came back out into the store reluctantly, “Mom, can’t I just stay here and Emma can say she couldn’t find me? Or couldn’t we all just go to Boston?”

            “Not to the first question: it’s illegal, but good try,” Ellery said, ruffling Henry’s hair, “As for the second question: still illegal. Besides, I don’t think Mary Margaret would move to Boston with us.”

            “Well of course Nan couldn’t come,” Henry stated, leaning into his mother’s side, “No one can leave Storybrooke, except us.”

            “Henry,” Ellery warned, “that’s enough. Now, it’s time for you to go, Monkey. I know you don’t want to, but you have to.”

            Henry threw his arms around Ellery, “Am I going to get to see you again, Mom?”

            Ellery held her son close, “Of course you will. Regina can’t stop us from running into each other in town. And she can’t stop all of our visits.” Emma could tell her sister didn’t fully agree with what she was trying to convince her son of, “I love you, Monkey, and nothing will ever change that.”

            “I love you too, Mom.” Henry said, pulling back and smiling at Ellery. “I’ll see you around.”

            “Get out of here,” Ellery joked, pushing Henry towards the shop entrance, “Call me before you go to bed and if you have nightmares, got it?”

            “Yes, Mom,” Henry nodded, stopping at the door, “I’ll talk to you later.”

            Ellery smiled as Henry raced out the door and got in Emma’s bug. “Hold on a sec, Em,” Ellery grabbed a pen and piece of paper from her shop counter, “Here’s my cell phone number, we should keep in touch this time around.”

            Emma took the proffered piece of paper, “I’ll call later tonight so you can have my number and we can discuss your plan to use me to get Henry back.”

            Ellery chuckled, “Alright that sounds good to me. Now get him home.”

            Emma turned to go but stopped before opening the door, “Have you found Dad? Is he still alive?”

            “Yeah, the curse saved his life,” Ellery sighed, “But he’s in the hospital, in a coma. I don’t know what will wake him up.”            

            “I guess that’ll have to be priority number two then,” Emma said as she opened the door, “Right after figuring out how to get Henry out of Regina’s hands. Later, Sis.”

            Ellery watched her sister drive off with her son and, for the first time in a long time, she believed that things really would change.

* * *

 

            Henry was uncharacteristically quiet on the drive to Regina’s and Emma felt sorry that she had to take him back. “You know I would let you stay with Ellery if I could, right?”

            Henry nodded, “Yeah, I know. I just feel bad for my mom. She pretends like she’s okay with letting me leave every time I have to go back to Regina’s, but I know she’s not and I hate it! I hate that she’s upset.”

            Emma stopped the car in front of Regina’s house, “I know you do, kid. She hates it when you’re upset too. But that doesn’t mean you should hide from your mom when you’re upset. In fact, it makes it more upset when you hide things from her.”

            “Yeah, I know,” Henry sighed, unbuckling his seatbelt, “I’m just ready for this to be over. I want to go home.”

            Emma sighed as she opened her door, “But you can’t right now, kid. You have to accept that this is your home for now. So let’s get you back inside. Come on.”

            Henry climbed out of the car and waited for Emma to join him before he made his way towards the house. When they were halfway up the sidewalk, the door to the house opened. Regina stared pointedly at Henry as he ran into the house and up the stairs.

            “Thank you,” Regina said sincerely.

            “No problem,” Emma replied, thinking of how happy her sister had been to see Henry and how she would do what she’d done today a hundred times over just to see her sister and Henry happy.

            “He seems to have taken quite a shine to you,” Regina recognized.

            Emma chuckled, “You know, it seems kinda crazy. Yesterday was my birthday and, when I blew out the candle on this cupcake I bought myself, I actually made a wish; that I wouldn’t have to be alone on my birthday. And then Henry showed up…”

            Regina interrupted, “I hope there’s no misunderstanding here.”

            Emma raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry?”

            Regina elaborated, “Don’t mistake this as invitation back into his life.”

            Emma wanted to explain just how easily she could become a part of Henry’s life again, but she wouldn’t. “That’s really not up to you, Madam Mayor. It’s up to his mother and possibly his Social Worker.”

            “Miss Swan, you gave up all rights to him ten years ago,” Regina said defensively, “including visitation rights. That’s what a closed adoption is.”

            “I don’t think you understand, Madam Mayor,” Emma began, planning to tell Regina just how open the adoption really was supposed to be.

            Regina interrupted her again before she could continue, “No, you don’t understand, Miss Swan. You have no legal right to Henry. So, I suggest you get in your car and go back to Boston now. Because if you don’t, I will destroy you if it the last thing I do. Goodbye, Miss Swan.”

            Emma decided that her best option would be to let Regina believe that she really didn’t have any legal rights to Henry. What mattered was that she knew that she could beat Regina if she tried. She was destined to defeat The Evil Queen after all. Emma stayed where she was, silently watching the Mayor walk into her house and close the door. Then Emma smiled broadly, oh, she was definitely staying in Storybrooke and Regina couldn’t say anything to make her change her mind.

* * *

 

            Emma found the Inn her sister had directed her to with very little difficulty. As she walked inside, she saw the woman who could only be her mother’s closest friend, dressed in extremely skimpy clothing and arguing with an old woman who had to be her Granny. After a particularly nasty jab at her Aunt Red’s supposed plan to sleep her way down the Eastern Seaboard, Emma decided to step in, “Excuse me? I’d…like a room?”

            The woman her mother had always referred to as Granny was astounded, “Really?” At Emma’s nod, Granny grabbed the ledger that held the Inn’s room information, “Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally there’s an upgrade fee for the square, but as the rent’s due, I’ll waive it.”

            Emma almost laughed aloud, but was able to refrain, “Square is fine.”

            Granny nodded and began to write down the information in her ledger, “Now, what’s the name?”

            “Swan,” Emma said tentatively, not sure she should use the last name she and her sister had chosen to share eleven years earlier, “Emma Swan.”

            “Emma, what a lovely name,” A new voice came spoke and Emma turned to see a man she couldn’t quite place in the grand scheme of the curse.

            “Thanks,” she said cautiously.

            Granny reached into a drawer and pulled out a roll of cash which she handed to the man, “It’s all here.”

            “Yes, yes, of course it is dear. Thank you,” He accepted the cash without counting it and turned to leave. He smiled creepily in Emma’s direction, “You enjoy your stay, Emma.”

            Emma felt a shiver run up her spine at the way the man had spoken to her, but she waited until he was gone before asking, “Who’s that?”

            Red was looking out the window watching the man as she replied, “Mr. Gold, he owns the place.”

            “The Inn?” Emma asked.

            “No, the town,” Granny replied gravely and then reverted to a happier tone of voice, “So, how long will you be with us?”

            “A week,” Emma replied. That was what Henry had asked from her and that was as long as she expected Ellery would let her stay in the Inn. It was a good start for now and wouldn’t make Regina suspicious, “Just a week.”

            “Great,” Granny said, pulling an old-fashioned key from the row of boxes in the wall and holding it out to Emma, “Welcome to Storybrooke.”

            Across the street, the clock in the library tower moved for the first time in twenty-eight years and across town, a ten year old boy smiled in satisfaction. Things were about to change in Storybrooke.

 


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ellery made a comment in the last chapter about no one recognizing that Emma and Ellery were twins, but I wanted to make sure everyone understands that the curse is behind hiding their identities. I see the curse as a semi-conscious entity that maintains itself and it sees Ellery as an anomaly, so it protects her until it can figure out how she can come and go as she pleases without actually being the Savior. There are some other things that the curse will be responsible for hiding later on, but I won't give anything else away.
> 
> This chapter has some of my favorite scenes that I've written so far. And we get to see Red, who is one of my favorite characters ever anyway! I have a lot planned for her and can't wait to see it all pan out! Hopefully I won't end up pulling an Adam and Eddy and having to not follow through on her story line. I promise I'll try not to do that!
> 
> This is the first chapter I wrote this year and I know my writing style matured between finishing chapter 3 and writing this one, so bear with me please! Hopefully this chapter will be better than the last ones have been. From here on out I'm fairly certain my chapters will begin to get steadily longer, I'm sorry!
> 
> To my Squad: Thanks so much for being totally awesome all the time! And thanks for supporting me whether I'm writing angst, fluff, or this!
> 
> Special thanks to my betas IUsed2bcool and sassyoq who helped me to catch tons of little mistakes. You guys are the greatest!

 

~21 Years Earlier~

"Mama," 7-year-old Ellery was getting her pajamas on while Emma was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, "Can you tell us a story about Aunt Red tonight?"

"Yeah!" Emma said excitedly, coming into the bedroom just in time to hear Ellery's story request, "Aunt Red is the coolest! I can't wait to meet her."

"Of course I can tell you an Aunt Red story," Snow White said, laughing lightly at the twins' enthusiasm, "How about I tell you the story of how Aunt Red and I met?"

When both twins nodded excitedly, Snow White directed them to finish getting ready for bed and then helped them both get settled before telling them the story of her first adventure with Red and finding out she was a werewolf. When the story ended, both girls were blinking sleepily and struggling hard to keep their eyes open. Snow White stood to kiss and tuck both of them in so they could fall asleep.

As Snow was tucking Ellery in, the young girl asked, "Mama, do you think Aunt Red will like us when we get to meet her?"

"I think your Aunt Red is going to love both of you, Ellery Red," Snow White said, kissing her daughter's blonde curls, "And I bet she'll even know you before Emma can break the curse." _At least I hope she still does,_ Snow thought as she kissed her other daughter goodnight and left the room.

* * *

 

~ 9 ½ Years Earlier ~

Ellery had been in Storybrooke for three months and had basically spent every moment of that time in the loft apartment she was sharing with her mother, or Mary Margaret now she supposed. But now that Henry was approaching six months, Ellery felt like she needed to get a job to help pay for the things that she and Henry needed. This was why Ellery was standing outside Granny's diner, trying to work up the courage to walk inside and ask Granny for a job.

Of all the places in Storybrooke, Granny's diner was the one Ellery had both dreaded and looked forward to going to the most. Ever since she was little, Ellery had adored the stories of her Aunt Red and had desperately wanted to meet her. But as she got older, Ellery had realized that despite the fact that Red's curse had broken when Ellery was born, there was a good chance that Regina had figured it out and recursed her godmother. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on the state of Red's memory, the only place in town that had a job opening was the diner.

Taking a deep breath, Ellery pushed open the door to the diner and walked inside, a sleeping Henry strapped to her chest in the carrier she'd purchased on a whim before he was born and gotten far more use out of than she'd ever expected. Since it was only 10 in the morning, the diner was fairly empty. Granny, upon hearing the bell above the door, came out from the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel. Ellery was struck by how much she looked exactly like the description Snow White had given her daughters for years.

"Can I help you?" Granny asked, staring at the girl standing before her with a baby strapped to her chest, trying to place her. "You're Mary Margaret's roommate, aren't you? She's mentioned you."

"Yeah, I'm Ellery White, and this is Henry." Ellery had chosen to use part of her mother's name as her last name so that if Emma ever did end up in town, there would be no connecting the two of them until it was too late, unless the fact that they were identical twins gave it away. Ellery had chosen to believe that the magic that had protected her at birth would protect her identity now too. But she was definitely looking forward to the day she could be Ellery Swan, or even Ellery Blanchard again. "I'm here because I was hoping you might have a job opening."  
"You're actually too late, dear," Granny said sorrowfully, "I just gave my last open waitress position to someone else. I'm sorry."

Ellery felt her heart sink, it was true that she had the money she'd forced August to give her after he'd taken it from Neal, but she wanted to save that for Henry's future like she'd decided with Emma before he was born. "Well, thank you anyway, I guess I'll ask around for something else."

"Alright, Ellery," Granny said, "You take care now."

Ellery walked sadly out of the diner, not sure what she was going to do now. As if sensing her mood, Henry started shifting in the carrier, rubbing his face against her chest. As she bounced back and forth, shushing to try and calm him down, she heard Granny's door open and someone come running out, "Ellery?"

The young woman's voice that called her name wasn't one that Ellery recognized, but she turned around anyway, too preoccupied with getting her son to take the pacifier she'd fished out of the carrier and fall back asleep to worry about who might be calling her. The fact that the young woman standing in front of her was her Aunt Red took a second to penetrate her thoughts, but when it did, Ellery could only stare.

Red must have taken her shock for confusion because she explained, "I heard Granny say your name right before you walked out. I came after you to tell you that we actually do have a waitress position open. I just got a call from the woman who was supposed to start today and apparently she's found a better job. Granny said the position is yours if you want it."

"Yes," Ellery almost sobbed in relief, "I would love it! Thank you so much… Sorry, I don't know your name."

"It's Ruby," Red said, rolling her eyes, "at least, that's what most people call me…"

Ellery stared at Red, trying to decide if she was reading more into "Ruby's" statement than she should be, but her aunt was either fabulous at hiding the fact that she remembered everything, or her alternate persona just really hated the name Ruby. "And what would you rather have people call you?"

Red studied her closely for a moment and Ellery shifted uncomfortably, wondering what she was looking for. Finally, Red spoke, "What did you say your full name was again?"

Ellery weighed her options quickly: she could lie, she could tell a partial truth, or she could trust that the woman in front of her was still in possession of all her memories and tell the truth. She chose to trust, "Ellery White, but I grew up as Ellery Red Blanchard, I got my middle name from my mom's best friend who's also my godmother."

Red's face was impassive for a second before breaking out in a wide grin, "I knew it! You look just like your parents! I don't know how much Snow told you about me, I'm your…"

"Aunt Red," Ellery interrupted excitedly, "Mom used to tell us stories about you when we were little, I've wanted to meet you forever!"

"So, Snow found Emma," Red said with a sigh of relief, "I've wondered for close to two decades if she'd found her."

"Yeah," Ellery said, smiling broadly, "Mom found her a day or two after leaving Storybrooke. It took her about a month to regain custody because she had to prove to the state she was the mother and that she wasn't the one who had dropped Emma off in the middle of the woods, but she eventually did and she raised the two of us on stories of her life in the Enchanted Forest and the curse Emma was supposed to break. Emma ran away at sixteen because Mom pushed too hard, but she did the best she could. This is Henry, he's actually Emma's, but she wasn't ready to be a mom and she asked me to raise him."

"Was Emma running away the reason Mary Margaret suddenly showed back up here a few years ago?" Red asked, stroking Henry's face with her finger gently.

"I think so. Mom put so many messages out in the media; I think Regina must have found her and threatened Emma if she didn't come back and allow herself to be recursed." Ellery said, "I'm not really sure what happened, I just came home one day and mom was gone. I tracked Emma down a few months later, but by the time I worked up the courage to approach her, well, she wasn't in a position to help me look for mom. Then three months ago I drove into Storybrooke and found Mom about three days later and I've been living with her ever since."

"You know, I would hug you," Red said, obviously wishing to do just that, "but Regina has spies everywhere, some willing and some not so willing, and I've kept my memories in tact for over 18 years now and I'm not about to lose them right after you've arrived. We'll work closely together at Granny's though since I'll be the one to train you, so we'll get to know each other fairly well and we can become friends."

Ellery smiled, "I look forward to that. I'm ready to start as soon as I find someone to watch Henry."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Red said, "I'll convince Granny to let you use the backroom for him to nap in and I know she'll be more than happy to help hold him when you're working. Now come on, Granny's waiting to discuss the position with you."

Ellery followed Red's lead, eager to finally get to know her aunt, neither of them knowing how important their relationship would end up being to the two of them.

* * *

~ Present Day ~

After the emotionally exhausting day Ellery'd had, she didn't think she could handle facing Mary Margaret and not being able to treat her like her mother. Instead, Ellery decided to take some time to work on the apartment above the Toy Store that she hoped to have painted and furnished by the time her custody hearing rolled around in two months. From the window in the living room where she was priming to paint, Ellery could see the clock tower over the old, boarded up library.

Even though she'd lived in Storybrooke just under ten years and had never seen the clock actually work, Ellery still found herself looking to see if the clock would ever tell the right time. Which was why when she glanced up to see the clock hands reading 8:30, she was shocked. This meant that Emma was really staying.

The sound of someone unlocking the downstairs door startled Ellery since she wasn't expecting anyone to be coming by tonight. Ever since the incident that had caused Henry to be removed from her custody….well, she didn't handle surprises after dark very well.

"Hey, it's just me," Luckily her Aunt knew Ellery well enough to know better than to enter her apartment without announcing herself first, "I saw the light on and decided I was better off studying here than in my car on the road out of town. Sorry if I scared you."

"Only slightly," Ellery called back, breathing deeply to calm her heart before it started racing. "I just wasn't expecting you. Come on up, I'd love the company of someone who knows the truth."

"As opposed to your mother?" Red asked as she walked through the door, "Do I have any clean changes of clothing here? I've got to get out of this skirt."

"You know, you could always start changing your appearance gradually so you didn't have to wear clothing like that anymore." Ellery said.

"Yeah, cause that won't scream 'she remembers her real life' to Regina," Red said snarkily, "and I didn't ask you what I should do about my clothing. I asked if I had any clean clothes here."

"I washed the laundry yesterday, everything's back in the closet outside of the bathroom." Ellery relented and Red shot her a grateful smile before heading into the hall and changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Ellery continued speaking when she walked back into the living room, "And yes, as opposed to my mother who remembers nothing. After the last two days I just need to speak candidly with someone about anything and everything."

"And your sister isn't an option?" Red asked pointedly, pulling out a stack of law books from the backpack she'd dropped by the door when she came in and sitting down cross-legged in the middle of the floor away from where Ellery was currently priming.

"My sister is kind of my problem," Ellery said as she rolled her paintroller over the wall harder than was necessary as she thought about everything that had happened over the last two days. "And how did you know my sister is in town?"

"I saw her when she came into the Inn tonight," Red said as she pulled out a pair of red, tortoise-shelled glasses and opened the books in front of her, "For about half a minute I thought it was you and then she asked for a room and I realized who she was. You guys really are identical; I don't know how no one saw it right away."

"I've been telling you we were identical for years. I think the curse is protecting us honestly." Ellery laughed, "So, what'd you think of her?"

"I didn't get a chance to speak with her," Red rolled her eyes, "Rent was due."

"She met Gold already?" Ellery stopped painting and turned to stare at Red, "What happened?"

"I'm not really sure," Red answered honestly, "He seemed to like her name and was a little more distracted than normal, he didn't count the rent money this month, but I have no idea if her name broke the curse on him or not."

"I'm still not sure if we want him awake or not," Ellery said, "On one hand, he might be useful if we can guarantee him as an ally."

"But on the other hand, he can't be trusted," Red deadpanned, "Come on, El, you know as well as I do that he only ever does anything for himself and he manipulates everything to his advantage. And that's just as Mr. Gold. If he remembers who he was back home, there's no telling what he'll do. Especially if he figures out who you are."

"He didn't know about me, no one did." Ellery said, resuming her painting, "And since the curse or something has protected my identity from the Evil Queen so far, we'll just have to trust that it'll protect my identity from him too. For now we'll just have to wait and watch him until he makes a wrong move."

"Please, just be careful," Red pleaded, "Now, tell me what made your sister change her mind about coming to town. I thought she was adamant that she didn't want to be the Savior."

"Well, she's still not keen on the fact that the fate of everyone here rest on her shoulders, but she's agreed to stay," Ellery smiled, "and she's here because of Henry. He's getting worried about the custody trial so he went to find Emma. To be honest, after Regina convinced the judge to decrease our visitations today, I'm a little worried too. I think Henry figures that Emma will either convince the judge to let him come live with me or that she'll break the curse and this will all become a nonissue."

"Well, he's not wrong with either theory." Red stated, staring at her goddaughter closely, "What does Emma think?"

"I think she's onboard to help with the custody hearing, but she's definitely still balking at having to break the curse," Ellery sighed, "I'm sure she'll come around eventually. Besides, we still don't know how she's supposed to break the curse, so there's still time to convince her."

"I'll talk to her," Red said, "I'll explain what life has been like around here especially for your mother. I'll tell her…"

"No," Ellery interrupted, "that's the opposite of what's going to convince her to stay and break the curse. She needs to come to the decision on her own without people trying to force her into it. And I think part of what is going to convince her to stay and fight is if she believes you're still cursed. As a kid she idolized you, having to watch you act cursed as Ruby could help convince her."

"Are you sure?" Red asked uncertainly.

"Absolutely," Ellery said, "Now, I need something to take my mind off the last few days, read me some of your law books. Your Bar Exam is coming up soon, isn't it?"

"It's the week before your trial, unless the trial gets moved again." Red answered affirmatively, "I've got one chance to pass, unlike all the other poor souls who've been taking the exam every year we've been here and failing. If I don't pass and Regina finds out, I'm done for. She'll know I have my memories and she'll come after me. Luckily, the curse is kind of on my side. Regina cursing me to be a law school dropout may be the best thing that ever happened to me. I have all these memories that are updated constantly of all the things I supposedly learned in law school and then I've done enough studying over the last few years to give me a very good chance of passing."

"Well then," Ellery said cheekily, "You better keep studying. I may need your services some day soon."

Red smiled and began reading aloud from the books in front of her as Ellery continued to prime the walls and both allowed their selves to forget, just for a moment, that there was anything wrong outside the front door.

* * *

The clock tolling the next morning was what woke Emma up and for a few seconds she entertained the idea that maybe the town had finally gotten someone in to fix the clock, but she knew better. The clock was working because time was moving again. Time was moving again because she had decided to stay in Storybrooke. And she had decided to stay in Storybrooke for her family; especially for Henry.

With a groan, Emma got out of bed. This was exactly what she had run away from twelve years earlier. Maybe her mom had been right, maybe this was her destiny and maybe she had no control over her life. She groaned again, she was not about to let some imp's vision control her life, destiny be damned. If she was going to break this curse, then it was going to be on her own term and no one else's.

The only thing she was definitely going to do was help her sister regain custody of Henry. And if that failed, she would petition the courts for custody herself and then move her entire family away from this cursed place. And that was including Mary Margaret and her father who was in a coma if she could figure out how to break the curse on them. Ellery would never leave Storybrooke though; Emma had figured that out within half an hour of speaking with her the previous day. Ellery had the same hero complex their mother did and she would insist on staying to save the people who were technically their subjects.

A knock on the door startled Emma out of her musings and she was still partially thinking about her destiny when she opened the door to the Evil Queen.

Regina didn't bother with pleasantries, just nodded towards the basket of apples in her arms, "Did you know the Honeycrisp tree is the most vigorous and hearty of all apple trees? It can survive temperatures of up to forty below and keep growing. It can weather any storm. I have one that I've tended to since I was a little girl. And to this day, I have yet to taste anything more delicious than the fruit it offers."

Regina offered one of the apples to Emma and she had no choice but to take it, holding back a shudder of revulsion, "Thanks."

"I'm sure you'll enjoy them on your way home." Regina didn't even try to hide the threat behind her words.

"Actually, I'm going to stay for a while," Emma said, her resolve to avoid the curse fading with every second she spent in Regina's presence; though she refused to admit it to herself yet.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Regina said haughtily, "Henry has enough issues. He doesn't need you confusing him."

"All due respect, Madam Mayor," Not that Emma thought she deserved any respect, because she didn't, not after what she'd done to Emma's family, "the fact that you have now threatened me twice in the last twelve hours makes me want to stay more." It also didn't help Regina's case that she'd made both Ellery and Henry cry. That was unforgiveable.

"Since when were apples a threat?" Regina asked innocently.

 _Since you poisoned my mother with one,_ Emma thought, but said aloud, "I can read between the lines. Sorry. I just want to make sure Henry's safe." _And back with his mother where he belongs._

"He's fine dear." Regina tried to brush off Emma's concern, "Any problems he has are being taken care of."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma had an idea of what that meant, but she wanted to hear it from Regina firsthand.

"It means he's in court ordered therapy. It's all under control." Regina was so haughty that Emma just wanted to slap her. "Take my advice, Miss Swan; only one of us knows what's best for Henry."

"I'm starting to think you're right about that," Emma said, barely containing her anger. The one person who really knew what was best for Henry was Ellery and Emma was willing to do whatever it took to reunite them.

"It's time for you to go," Regina was angry and Emma could tell. She was also afraid.

"Or what?" Emma challenged.

"Don't underestimate me, Miss Swan," Regina said threateningly, "You have no idea what I'm capable of."

Regina didn't give Emma a chance to respond, stalking off down the hallway so that she missed Emma mumbling, "Oh, I know exactly what you're capable of. But I'm not scared of you."

Emma shut her door firmly, refusing to slam it and give Regina the satisfaction of knowing she'd gotten under Emma's skin. With a growl of frustration, Emma tossed the apple on the bed instead of giving into her urge to throw it through the window. She really should throw the apple away, but if Regina had given Emma a cursed apple, then Emma might need to hold onto it, just in case. Ellery would know what to do with it.

Emma picked up her phone and went to dial her sister's number, hesitating at the last second. Ellery had seemed happy to see her yesterday, but Emma wondered if her sister really wanted her around. Emma could clearly remember the last conversation she'd had with Ellery before arriving in Storybrooke and the sisters hadn't exactly parted under the best of situations. Emma shook her head as if to clear those thoughts. Of course, Ellery wanted her around, she was the only person who could break the curse and she was Ellery's best chance at getting Henry back. Emma dialed and waited for her sister to pick up.

"Hey, sis," Ellery answered after a few rings, "For someone with no job and nothing to do today, you're sure up early."

"That stupid clock that's supposedly broken woke me up chiming the hour," Emma said grumpily, refusing to admit that she knew the reason why the clock was working again. But Ellery knew Emma too well to believe that she didn't know the truth.

"I wonder why the clock chose now after all the years I've lived here to suddenly start working," Ellery said wryly, obviously not fooled by Emma's attempt to play dumb.

"The same reason why Regina Mills showed up at my door with a basket full of apples and a bunch of thinly veiled threats as to why I need to leave town," Emma replied, "Tell me, what made you decide to stay in town and allow that woman to care for Henry instead of driving straight back out of town and finding me? How can you stand to be in the same town as her?"

"Mom," Ellery said simply, "she was there for me when no one else was. When Henry was first removed from my custody, I was in no state to leave town with him, and then when I was…"

Ellery trailed off and Emma wondered not for the first time just what had happened to cause Henry to get removed from her sister's custody, "El, about that…"

"I don't want to talk about it," Ellery said quickly, "Let's just say I trusted the wrong person and ended up getting manipulated into a situation that had a terrible outcome, for me and Henry."

"I don't want to push," Emma began, "but I need to know at some point. I don't want to be surprised by the information at a later date."

"I promise, I'll tell you what happened eventually," Ellery said sincerely, "It's just not that easy to talk about over the phone and without copious amounts of ice cream. There are only two people who know the full story: Henry, because he was unfortunately there, and Mom, because she put most of the piece together and then coaxed the full story out of me with ice cream. I want you to be the third person, but I'm just not ready to tell you right now. It'll be soon though."

"Okay, Emma acquiesced, realizing that whatever her sister had gone through must have been really terrible. She changed the subject, "So, I saw Aunt Red last night, or her cursed counterpart at least. She's nothing like the woman mom used to tell us about."

"Ah yes, Ruby," Ellery laughed, "I used to work with her and we've become pretty good friends. Before I owned the Toy Store I was a waitress at Granny's. I still pick up shifts if Granny's is super busy. Ruby's not as brash as she seems, except with Granny. It's too bad really. They obviously love each other, but they're almost always fighting with each other. Oh no…"

The tone of Ellery's voice concerned Emma. Something must have caught her sister's attention and whatever had caught her attention was most definitely awful, "What's going on?"

"You haven't read the paper this morning by any chance have you?" Ellery hedged cautiously.

"No," Emma said suspiciously, "What does it say?"

"Well, let's just say the Evil Queen must be scared of you because she's put Sidney Glass up to one hell of a hatchet job." Ellery said, "Not that it reveals too much information about you, good or bad. But the way he's portrayed you isn't exactly flattering. And the picture doesn't help either."

Emma sighed, "Fantastic! That's just what I needed to deal with: a hatchet job. I guess giving me a potentially cursed apple wasn't enough."

"You took an apple from the Evil Queen?" Ellery asked incredulously, "Are you insane?"

"I didn't really have much of a choice," Emma responded, "it's not like I'm planning on eating it. I was thinking maybe I should keep a hold of it in case she poisoned it and we can use it against her one day."

"That's not a bad idea," Ellery said distractedly, "look, why don't I meet you at Granny's in forty-five minutes and we can discuss our game plan. I have to go talk to Henry before he convinces Mary Margaret to let him skip school today without telling Regina."

"Good luck with that. And I'll talk with you about how you're planning to get Henry back," Emma said, "but I'm still not ready to break the curse. That doesn't mean I'm not willing to fight dirty and use what magic I can to get Henry back. But putting the fates of everyone on my shoulders is more than I'm willing to carry right now."

"That's fair, I guess," Ellery sighed, "But one day you're going to have to accept your role as Savior and you know it."

Emma refused to acknowledge the fact that she did know that she would have to one day don the mantle of Savior, "Go deal with your son. I'll see you in forty-five minutes."


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, sorry this is late, I had a crazy day yesterday and by the time I realized I hadn't posted this or edited it, it was time for me to get to bed so I could be up at 5:30 for work this morning. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this update, there is a character mentioned in here who will become a much larger part of the story the further we get into it, so don't worry too much about not having any idea who he is when he's mentioned.
> 
> Dedicated as always to the Squad, I swear I don't know what I'd do without you (it's possible I'd write less angst, but that is neither here nor there)! I love you guys!
> 
> Thanks to my beta IUsed2bcool for looking over this when you did. You're awesome!

**Chapter Five**

A little over half an hour later, Emma sat down at a table in Granny's with a newspaper and Regina's apple in her hand. While she read the article Sidney Glass had written about her, she twirled the apple mindlessly. As she finished reading the article, Ruby came over to her table and set down a mug of hot cocoa topped with whipped cream and cinnamon. "Here you go."

Emma stared at the mug in confusion, "Thank you, but I did not order that."

Ruby smiled cheerfully, "Yeah, I know. You have an admirer."

Emma looked around for someone who might have sent her the cocoa and saw Sheriff Graham sitting at another table nearby. Standing up with the apple and hot cocoa, Emma walked over to Graham's table and set the mug down in front of him. Graham smiled at her, "Ah, so you decided to stay."

"Observant," Emma said sarcastically, "Important for a cop."

"It's good news for our tourist business; bad news for our local signage." Graham replied with a smile, clarifying, unnecessarily, when Emma just stared at him, "It's…it's a joke. It's because you ran over our sign."

"Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture, and I'm impressed that you guessed I like cinnamon on my chocolate, because most people don't," Emma refused to let the Sheriff's charm affect her, "but I'm not here to flirt. So, thank you, but no thank you."

"I didn't send it," Graham replied, slightly confused.

"I did," Henry poked his head around the edge of the booth behind Graham's and smiled at Emma, "I like cinnamon too, and so does Mom."

Emma looked at Henry calculatingly, "Don't you have school?"

"Duh," Henry said, jumping out of the booth and coming to stand by Emma's side, "I'm ten. Walk me."

"Kid, I can't," Emma said regretfully, "I'm meeting your mom here in a few minutes and…"

"Good, then she can walk me too," Henry grinned and walked out the door, leaving Emma no choice but to follow him. Once outside, Henry scanned the sidewalk eagerly, bouncing up and down slightly on his toes, "Do you know where she is?"

"No, I don't," Emma said, "sorry kid. She said she'd meet me here about forty minutes ago, but it's possible she'll be later than…"

"There she is!" Henry exclaimed, taking off towards Ellery, "Mom!"

"Hey, Monkey," Ellery said in amusement as Henry reached her and threw his arms around her, Emma following close behind him, "Why aren't you at school already?"

"I still have a few minutes before the bell rings," Henry defended, "And I was kind of hoping you'd change your mind about letting me skip school and telling Nan to not tell Regina…."

"Good try," Ellery mock glared at her son, "But, not going to happen. You skipped yesterday; I'm not letting you skip again today. Now, come on, Emma and I'll walk you to school."

Henry took Ellery's hand and the three of them started out in the direction of the school. Wanting to go ahead and talk to Ellery about the custody case somewhere Ellery wouldn't, or couldn't, talk about the curse, Emma spoke up, "So, what's the deal with you guys and Regina?"

"It's not about us, it's about her curse," Henry piped up and Ellery shot Emma an amused look, she knew what Emma was trying to do and it had backfired spectacularly. Henry didn't see the look; he was too excited about what he was explaining. "We have to break it. Luckily, I have a plan. Step one: identification. I call it, Operation Cobra."

"Cobra?" Emma asked, "That has nothing to do with fairy tales."

"Exactly," Henry beamed, "It's a code name to throw the Queen off the trail."

"Henry, we've talked about this," Ellery sighed, "Regina isn't a Queen, Evil or otherwise, and we can't hide things from her. That'll only end badly for us."

"So you're going to tell her that you walked me to school today?" Henry challenged.

"No," Ellery acquiesced, "but I'll tell Olivia and she'll tell Regina I'm sure. Hey to change the subject, Monkey, before we get to school, you do remember what day it is, right?"

"Um, the day you let me skip school so we can run away together forever?" Henry hedged in a way that clued Emma into the fact that he knew exactly what Ellery was talking about, even if Emma herself had no idea.

"Try again," Ellery laughed, nudging Henry playfully.

"Can't I keep it for another week?" Henry begged, "One week isn't enough. I'm not ready to switch."

"I mean, if you really don't want to switch, I guess that's fine," Ellery responded faux-reluctantly, "but the longer you keep it, the less it'll smell like me."

"Does mine smell like you now?" Henry asked, leaning his head on Ellery's arm and breathing deeply.

"Yeah, of course, I've been using it every night, just like always." Ellery reassured her son, smoothing his hair down with the hand not holding his, "Do you have it with you?"

Henry nodded reluctantly, "It's in my backpack. Do you have mine?"

"No, but Nan does." Ellery replied, "I sent it with her like always. She'll give it to you after school. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Henry smiled, "Time's not frozen anymore, Mom, because Emma's here."

"Yeah, about that," Emma interjected after a moment, seeing that Ellery wasn't exactly sure how to respond to Henry, "So, everyone here is a fairy tale and they just don't know it?"

"That's the curse," Henry said, turning to look at Emma, who was closely inspecting the apple and trying to figure out if it was cursed or not, "Hey! Where'd you get that?"

"Regina," Emma answered, wondering what Henry was thinking since the apple just looked like a normal piece of fruit.

"Don't eat that!" Henry shouted in alarm, snatching the apple from Emma and throwing it over his shoulder quickly to the amusement of the twins.

"Okay, uh…" Emma said, trying to think of something else to say, "Alright, what about their pasts?"

Ellery glared at Emma as if she should have come up with another subject to discuss with Henry, but with his one track mind, it probably wouldn't have done any good. He answered knowledgably, "They don't know. It's a haze to them. Ask anyone anything, and you'll see."

"So, for decades, people have been wandering around in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious." Emma stated, not having to question the information that she was beginning to admit to herself must be true. But she didn't feel guilty or responsible for them still walking around in that haze. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

"I knew you'd get it," Henry said, beaming proudly, "That's why we need you. You're the only one who can stop her curse. And mom and I need you because you're the only one who can convince the judge to give me back."

"Because I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?" Not for the first time Emma wondered why it was her and not Ellery who would break the curse and why Rumplestilskin hadn't seen both of them.

"Yes. And right now, we have the advantage," Henry explained, pulling a stack of papers out of his coat, "Regina doesn't know that. I took out the end, the part with you in it. See? Your mom is Snow White."

"Kid…" Emma didn't know what to say in response to that.

"What about me, Henry," Ellery asked, clearly knowing how to gently help dissuade her son, even if everything he said was true, "I'm Emma's twin sister. Am I in the book?"

"No, but I think Snow White kept you a secret to keep you safe. I don't know how you got to this world safely like Emma did because the wardrobe only took one, but somehow you did," Emma and Ellery looked at each other in shock, Henry had clearly thought through everything having to do with the curse and was much closer to the truth than he realized. Henry saw the way they looked at each other and misread the looks, "I know the hero never believes at first. If they did, it wouldn't be a very good story. If you need proof, take the pages. Read them. But whatever you do, don't let Regina see those pages. They're dangerous. If she finds out who you are, that would be bad."

They approached the school as the bell began to ring and Ellery gave Henry a hug, silencing his diatribe, "Alright, Monkey, hand it over and head inside before Nan gets on to me for letting you arrive late."

Henry tightened his arms around Ellery and buried his face in her stomach, "You get it, I'm not letting go of you."

Ellery dug through Henry's backpack and pulled out a baby blanket that matched Emma's in every way except for the name embroidered on the bottom and the lavender ribbon instead of a royal purple one. Placing a kiss on his forehead, Ellery detached herself from Henry's arms and gave him a light push in the direction of the school, "I'll talk to you tonight."

"I gotta go," Henry said pushing the storybook pages into Emma's hands and addressing her as if she hadn't heard him talking to his mother right there, "But I'll find you later and we can get started. I knew you'd believe me."

"I never said I did," Emma called as Henry began running for the school.

He stopped for just a second to turn and call back, "Why else would you be here?"

Emma and Ellery watched as he then took off towards the school again. Emma noticed that her sister had tears glistening in her eyes and she pulled Ellery into a one-armed hug, "Don't worry, I'll get him back to you."

Ellery smiled sadly and brought the blanket up to her nose to inhale her son's scent, "I know you will; one way or another. If you'll excuse me, I need to go let Olivia know I walked him to school with you."

Emma nodded and Ellery walked a few feet away as Mary Margaret, who'd been monitoring the children outside, approached, "It's good to see his smile back. And hope in her eyes."

"I didn't do anything," Emma insisted.

"You stayed," Mary Margaret smiled, "So, does the Mayor know you're still here?" "Oh, she knows," Emma said, thinking of Regina's early morning visit. Glancing over to where Ellery was still talking on the phone, Emma continued speaking with her mother, "What is Regina's deal? She'd not a great people person. How did she get elected?"

"She's been mayor for as long as I can remember," Mary Margaret said distractedly, and Emma realized with a shudder that the curse was working to keep her mother from thinking about how strange that was, "No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She inspires quite a bit of, well, fear. I'm afraid I only made that worse by bringing the book to Henry. Now he thinks she's the Evil Queen."

"Who does he think you are?" Emma asked, hating to see her mother that way.

"Oh, it's silly," Mary Margaret laughed in embarrassment.

"I just got five minutes of silly," Emma laughed, trying to reassure Mary Margaret, "Lay it on me."

"Snow White," Mary Margaret admitted, looking slightly pleased, "Who does he think you are?"

"I'm not in the book. Does he think Ellery is or something?" Emma couldn't admit her identity and have Mary Margaret make something about their supposed connection when Mary Margaret wasn't the mother Emma remembered.

"I don't know," Mary Margaret admitted, shrugging, "He's never said anything about it to me, and neither has she."

"Can I ask you a favor?" Emma asked as Ellery finished up her phone call and the yard outside of the school cleared. Mary Margaret nodded and Emma continued, "Regina mentioned the kid's in therapy. Do you know where I can find the doctor?"

"I'll take you," Ellery said, walking back over to join them. "I have to talk to Archie about Henry anyway."

"I'll see you at home tonight," Mary Margaret addressed Ellery as she turned to go into the school, "It was good seeing you again, Emma. I'm so glad you decided to stay."

"Bye, Mare, see you tonight," Ellery waved and Emma smiled in response to Mary Margaret as their mother walked inside to start her class. The twin stood in silence for a minute, both thinking how much they wished Snow White would remember. Finally, Ellery turned to Emma, "You ready?"

"Don't you have to work?" Emma asked as she and Ellery began walking back the way they came.

"The great thing about my store is that even though I get maybe four customers a day who walk in and maybe one sale a week, I can always count on my online sales. Everything's run out of Augusta and Liam takes care of the day to day details." Ellery explained and Emma stared at her in confusion. Ellery hadn't exactly answered the question; something Emma suddenly remembered her sister being very good at when they were children, especially when it had been their mother questioning Ellery about some mishap or another. Ellery laughed, "I don't open until ten on Thursdays."

"I didn't know you had an online store," Emma finally picked up on the piece of information her sister had given, "How does that work exactly?"

"Well, I have a warehouse in Augusta that I visit quarterly and Liam takes care of everything else," Ellery shrugged, "It's not too hard and gives me the freedom to take care of things here."

"How is Liam?" Emma asked, "I don't think I've spoken to him since he set up my new identity right after Phoenix."

"He's doing well I think," Ellery answered, "I haven't really talked to him about anything other than work in over three years since he got married."

"He's married?" Emma exclaimed, "I thought he was never going to lose his crush on me."

"Oh, he never did," Ellery assured her, "But he's got an almost three year old, so I'm fairly certain that's why he got married."

"What?" Emma asked jokingly, "You weren't his Best Woman?"

"No, I was, but I was a little preoccupied at the time." Ellery rolled her eyes, "His wedding was less than a month after Henry was removed from my custody and I wasn't quite in my right mind then."

Emma noticed that Ellery had begun wringing her blanket through her hands as she spoke, even vaguely, about whatever had caused Henry to get removed from Ellery's custody. Emma changed the subject, "So, what was the deal with the blankets?"

"Well," Ellery laughed, she realized what Emma was doing and was grateful, even if she wouldn't acknowledge it, "I made Henry a blanket almost exactly like ours when we first moved to Storybrooke and he used it nonstop until he turned two and discovered mine, which I still keep under my pillow."

"So do I," Emma admitted, "Though, mine is still in Boston right now."

"We really are more alike than we ever wanted to be," Ellery mused and then continued her story, "Anyway, Henry got it into his head that my blanket was his too. We used to play this game where we'd both hide the blanket during the day and the last one to hide the blanket without it being found got it for the night. When he moved in with Regina we started trading the blankets back and forth every week so he always has one that smells like me. But he still likes mine better and always tries to wheedle more time with it out of me."

"It's really kind of adorable," Emma said smiling and Ellery returned her grin.

"I know, that's why I've let it continue this long," Ellery laughed, waving at a woman on the street as they passed. The woman waved back and glanced curiously at Emma as they walked on, but her glance didn't involve the double take both girls were used to seeing when other people saw them both standing side by side.

"It's curious how no one is shocked by our appearances here," Emma commented.

Ellery nodded, "I don't think anyone knows we're twins except people who know me fairly well, like Mom and Olivia. Even Regina has never recognized me and she found Mom when we were looking for you. At that point your picture was plastered all over the television and newspapers, which means she at the very least should know who I am. But she's never seen me as anything more than someone who has befriended Mom and makes her happy. I think the curse protects me"

"That doesn't make any sense," Emma's brow furrowed, "She's not affected by the curse, why would the curse hide you from her?"

"I'm not 100% certain of this," Ellery began, stopping and turning to her sister, "but my theory is that the curse is sentient. Very sentient actually, it has to be to maintain the day to day business of the curse. Regina couldn't handle all of it. I think the curse is confused by me, because I was born here and I left, but now I'm back. I think the curse hasn't quite figured out what I am or what role I'm supposed to play in breaking it, so it's protecting me until it figures it out."

"Wait, are you trying to say that the curse wants to be broken?" Emma asked as they began to walk again.

"Of course," Ellery shrugged as if that was the most obvious thing in the world, "Rumplestilskin created this curse to get here so he could find his son. He can't find his son if he doesn't remember who he is and if he can't leave the town."

"I guess that makes sense," Emma nodded, "We'll just have to be careful to keep Regina from finding out who you are. You know, just in case my being here makes the curse lax or something."

Ellery grinned and nodded, "That sounds like a good plan."

They stopped in front of Archie Hopper's office and Ellery's grin faded. She looked at Emma seriously, "Look, I'm going to tell Dr. Hopper to divulge all information regarding Henry and his sessions to you. Which means you will have full access to his files and he'll be free to talk to you whenever you have questions."

"Okay," Emma answered slowly, "so what's with the serious face?"

"Henry's files have details relating to why he's in custody," Ellery said nervously, "which means you'll have a fairly good picture of what happened. A good bit of the information is fabricated of course, but I'm not ready to tell you everything yet. So, you need to be prepared to not trust everything you read."

Emma nodded, "Of course. And I am willing to wait for the story."

"I know sis," Ellery smiled again, "Thanks. Now, let's go talk to Dr. Hopper."

* * *

A little over two hours later, Emma was back in her room at Granny's with Henry's file spread out on the bed in front of her. Archie had been a little reluctant to hand over the file, but, since Ellery had insisted, he'd done so eventually. Archie had cautioned both of the twins against destroying Henry's supposed fantasy because he needed it right now. Emma and Ellery had discussed Archie's advice as they walked back to Granny's to grab some breakfast and they'd decided that, in order to best execute any game plan, Ellery would need to continue to try and keep Henry quiet about the curse while Emma would play along and allow Henry to try and convince her that the curse was real.

With all of that decided, Ellery had described what she thought Emma might have to do once the trial finally rolled around. She also hesitantly broached the possibility of Emma needing to be willing to claim custody of Henry if the judge decided she was still unfit.

Emma was still thinking about that possibility as she began flipping through Henry's file. The things she read shocked her, especially the information regarding the circumstances behind his being removed from Ellery's custody. She couldn't quite tell what was real and what had been fabricated, but knowing her sister she had a good idea of what was probably true. More than wishing she knew what was true, Emma wished she'd been around three years ago to help her sister and son/nephew. Emma also wished Ellery was ready to tell her what had really happened, but she had promised she'd wait and so wait she would.

There was a knock at the door and Emma put down the file so she could answer it. She was slightly surprised to see Sheriff Graham standing there with a slightly sheepish look on his face. Confused as to the reason for his visit, Emma greeted him with a joke, "Hey, there. If you're concerned about the 'do not disturb' signs, don't worry. I've left them alone."

"Actually, I'm here about Dr. Archibald Hopper," Graham said, confusing Emma even more, "He mentioned you got into a row with him earlier?"

"No…" Emma said, trailing off as she realized that Regina must have gotten to Archie and made him call Graham on her.

"I was shocked too." Graham replied sarcastically, "And given your shy, delicate sensibilities… He says you demanded to see Henry's files and when he refused, you came back and stole them."

"I went with Ellery, Henry's mother, and she gave Dr. Hopper permission to let me see the files," Emma stated, a pit of dread settling in her stomach, "He gave them to me."

"Alas, he's telling a different tale, Graham said and Emma silently cursed Regina for being a conniving, Evil bitch. "May I check your room? Or, must I get a search warrant?"

Deciding to be cooperative even though she knew that was going to bite her in the ass, Emma opened her door all the way and motioned to the file spread out over her bed, "Is this what you're looking for?

"Well, you're very accommodating." Graham said as he pulled out his handcuffs, "I'm afraid, Miss Swan, you're under arrest, again."

"You know I'm being set up, don't you?" Emma asked as she allowed Graham to handcuff her and begin leading her out of her room.

"And whom, may I ask, is setting you up?" Graham asked, shutting the door behind them.

Emma didn't answer, she knew exactly who was setting her up, but she also knew Graham would never believe her. She remained silent on the ride to the station, brooding over this latest attempt by Regina to get her to leave. What Regina didn't realize, of course, was that the harder Regina tried to hurt Emma, the more concerned for her family Emma became and the more adamant she was that staying was the right decision.

When they arrived at the station, Graham led her over to take her mugshot and Emma broke her silence as the camera flashed, "You know the shrink is lying, right? I did go in with Ellery."

"To the right please," Graham requested as he changed out the film. Emma did as she was told as he continued, "I plan on speaking to Miss White as soon as I've booked you. But tell me this, why would Dr. Hopper lie?"

"The Mayor put him up to this," Emma said hotly as the camera flashed again, so much for not blaming Regina. Well, as long as she'd already blamed her for one thing… "She's got to have something on him. He's terrified of her like everyone else in this town."

"To the left," Graham instructed and Emma once again did as he requested, "Regina maybe a touch…intimidating, but I don't think she'd go so far as a frame job."

"How far would she go?" Emma challenged as Graham snapped the last picture, but she knew the answer to that question, and the next one she asked, "What does she have her hands in?"

"Well, she's the Mayor. She has her hands in everything," Graham said unconcernedly and Emma once again could almost see the curse working on him.

"Including the police force?" She challenged.

Graham was kept from answering when Henry ran into the Sheriff's station followed by Mary Margaret, "Hey!"

"Henry!" Graham exclaimed, obviously nervous that Henry was in the station in the middle of the day, "Henry, what are you doing here?"

Regina told him what happened," Mary Margaret explained protectively and Emma saw a tiny bit of the Snow White she knew peeking through.

"Of course she did," Emma sighed, "Henry, I don't know what she told you…"

"You're a genius," Henry said excitedly.

"What?" Emma was confused.

"I know what you were up to," Henry smiled, "You were gathering intel for Operation Cobra."

_If only he knew how close he was to the truth,_ Emma thought. _But we agreed not to let him know the truth, at least not yet._

"I'm sorry," Graham interjected, keeping Henry from realizing that Emma hadn't responded, "I'm a bit lost."

"It's need to know, Sheriff," Henry declared seriously, "And all you need to know is that Nan's going to bail her out."

"You are?" Emma looked at her mother in shock. Sure, Emma's mother had always had her daughters' backs, but Mary Margaret wasn't her mother, not really. "Why?"

"I, uh, trust you," Mary Margaret seemed just as confused as Emma was, but for different reasons, "And so does Ellery. That's good enough for me."

"Well, if you can uncuff me," Emma demanded, offering her bound hands to Graham, "I have something to do."

Graham accepted the cash Mary Margaret offered him for Emma's bail and uncuffed Emma's hands. She smiled gratefully at Mary Margaret and ruffled Henry's hair as she walked purposefully out of the police station. Regina had no idea what she'd just done by framing Emma, but she was about to find out.

* * *

Emma's temper had always caused her to do things in the heat of the moment that she later admitted to herself had probably not been the best choices she'd ever made. Today was no different, though she suspected she'd stand by this decision even when she cooled down. When she'd first left the station, she hadn't had an exact plan for retaliating against Regina, she just knew Regina had to pay. As she'd stormed towards Regina's house, however, Emma had seen a chainsaw lying in Regina's front yard and an idea had formed instantaneously.

Walking purposefully to Regina's backyard, Emma went up to the apple tree Regina had bragged about earlier that day and cranked the chainsaw. She waited until she saw Regina's face appear at an upstairs window to begin sawing through one of the branches and was pleased when Regina's face became panicked before disappearing from the window altogether.

Regina appeared outside very quickly thereafter, yelling as she ran across the yard, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Picking apples," Emma said as the branch fell and she turned off the chainsaw.

"You're out of your mind," Regina shouted incredulously as she stared at her tree in shock.

"No, you are if you think a shoddy frame job's enough to scare me off." Emma said, panting in anger and with the exertion of cutting the branch, "You're going to have to do better than that. You come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this tree. Because, sister, you have no idea what I am capable of. Your move."

This time, Emma stalked away without giving Regina a chance to respond. She dropped the chainsaw where she'd found it, still boiling mad at the Evil Queen. As she walked back towards Granny's, her phone rang and Emma answered it angrily without checking the number, "What?"

"So, what'd you do?" Ellery's voice broke through Emma's anger, "Mary Margaret called and told me she bailed you out and that you left pretty fast."

"Chopped a branch off her precious apple tree," Emma growled, still slightly angry and not ready to let go of her anger. "She framed me and had me arrested.

"Yeah, I know," Ellery acknowledged, "I've been there. Don't worry, I already chewed Archie out and he and I are going down to the station tomorrow morning to get the charges dropped."

"You don't have to do that," Emma said, "I don't want her to hate you even more and have even more reason to go after you."

"She already hates me because I make Mom happy and I refuse to leave no matter how she threatens or bribes," Ellery pointed out with a sigh, "Going to Graham and clearing your name isn't going to change things. So, did you get to read the file?"

"Enough of it," Emma admitted. "Why didn't you call me, El? I would have dropped everything and come to help you, you have to know that."

"I wasn't sure you would," Ellery admitted, "And I was…embarrassed. A lot of the story isn't in his file and a lot of what is, well, it's fabricated."

"Yeah," Emma replied seriously, "you said that earlier and I could kind of tell anyway. I just really wish I could have been there for you. And you don't have to tell me anything until you're ready."

"Thanks," Ellery said, "And I wish I'd had the courage to call you then, it would have been nice to have my sister here. Why don't you come by my shop tonight about 8, we should talk about all those things we've missed in each other's lives over the years. And you can help me paint."

"Paint what?" Emma asked with a laugh.

"I have an apartment above my shop that I'm fixing up so that I can have it ready and approved by Henry's trial." Ellery answered, "I finished priming it last night, but I have to start painting the walls so it's done in time."

"I'll be there," Emma said, "I love you, sis."

"I'll see you tonight," Ellery responded, "Bye."

Ellery hung up without returning Emma's "I love you" and Emma wondered just whether Ellery had just missed the statement or if she'd ignored it on purpose. She suspected though that it was the latter reason and it made her wonder just what had happened to make her formerly open sister so guarded.

 


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I absolutely love this chapter! I hope you guys do too!! If you do like this chapter, or any chapters I've written, please take a minute and send me a review. I appreciate all kinds of reviews and would love to know what my readers think!
> 
> This is dedicated to the Squad once again! Seriously you guys are the best and I don't know how you've put up with my angst writing this week! Hopefully I'll be able to take a break from that now, I need to work hard on writing Chapter 13 of this after all so I'm far enough ahead that I don't have to make you guys wait sometime in the future for a chapter.
> 
> Special thanks to IUsed2bcool for reading over this and making sure it made sense!! You're the best Beta in the world! And a pretty awesome friend too, love you dear!!! :)

 

**Chapter Six**

~10 ½ Years Earlier~

"You're what?" Ellery asked incredulously, staring at her sister across the table in the Phoenix Juvenile Detention Center's visitation room.

"Pregnant apparently," Emma groaned, removing her glasses and burying her face in her hands, "The doctor says I'm about three months along."

"What are you going to do?" Ellery asked, "You're still going to have four months in here after the baby is born. How are you going to be a mom from inside a jail cell?"

"I'm 17!" Emma exclaimed, "I am not ready to be a mother. I can barely take care of myself outside of here, let alone a baby. I mean, I don't have any money. How do you expect me to raise a baby?"

"Maybe Neal…" Ellery began, wanting to judge Emma's reaction before bringing up the fact that she had almost $20,000 Neal had entrusted to her for Emma when she was released. Well, entrusted to her after he'd tried giving it to August and she'd intervened.

"No," Emma barked sharply, "I don't want him knowing about this. Ever. He betrayed me. You were there, you know what he did. How can you even suggest that?"

"Because he didn't want to betray you" Ellery defended her friend and in the spur of the moment she decided to protect August's identity. "It was Pinocchio."

"You know, when you say things like that I'm much more inclined to believe you and Mom are both just insane," Emma rolled his eyes, "And even if you aren't insane, Pinocchio would be stuck in Storybrooke, Maine like Mom said everyone was."

"We aren't insane," Ellery shot back, "And you know that. I bet Pinocchio came through the wardrobe before you did. You were 'found' by a seven-year-old boy and Mom used to say that Pinocchio looked like he was around seven. It's not that big of a stretch."

"Except the part where he's a fairy tale character," Emma complained.

"Technically, we're fairy tale characters," Ellery pointed out.

"Don't forget the fact that your theory means the Blue Fairy, someone Mom trusted explicitly, lied to our parents," Emma countered, sighing in frustration, "If we are actually fairy tale characters then our lives suck. Look, I don't want to fight with you. I want your help figuring out how to put this baby up for adoption."

"I'll adopt him," Ellery stated determinedly, surprising herself with her decision.

"You?" Emma stared at her twin, "You're only 17 too. You think you're ready to be a mother?"

"No," Ellery answered honestly, "But fate has proven to be a fickle thing when it comes to us and with our luck, the baby would end up being adopted by the Evil Queen. Or the baby would end up like Liam in the system. I'm not willing to let either one of those things happen to my niece or nephew."

"You can't be sure one of those things will actually happen," Emma tried to reassure her sister, "We can triple check to make sure the baby goes to a good home."

"I still think the baby needs to stay with family." Ellery said, sounding more sure about her decision than she felt, "and if you don't think you can do it then I will."

"Alright," Emma conceded reluctantly, "But you can't tell Neal anything."

"Deal," Ellery said and sighed as the social worker standing nearby motioned that their time was up, "Well, I guess I'll see you next time."

"Love you too," Emma replied with a smile and then watched as her sister was led outside before she was led back to her cell.

* * *

 

~Present Day~

Regina had gotten on Emma's last nerve and then somehow managed to irritate her even further. She wasn't a felon and Ellery had promised to get her name cleared, but tomorrow morning was not soon enough to keep Regina from calling and getting her kicked out of Granny's. Emma supposed she could always crash with her sister, but she really didn't know if she was ready for that. As she stalked down Main Street angrily, she shrugged a shirt on over the tank top she'd been taken to the Sheriff's station in earlier.

She stopped suddenly as she spotted the boot someone, probably Graham via Regina's orders, had placed on her car. Resisting the urge to curse, she answered her phone harshly as it rang, "Yeah?"

Of course it was Regina, "Miss Swan, I'd be happy to continue demonstrating my power, but am I right in guessing your resolve to stay is only growing?"

"You have no idea," Emma growled.

"Well then, I think it's time we made peace. Why don't you drive over to my office?" Emma had begun climbing into her car as Regina spoked, but the boot on the tire once again caught her eye and she slammed her door shut with excessive force, "Or walk, whatever suits you."

Emma hung up the phone and began to walk towards Regina's office, hoping the walk would cool her temper before she inadvertently gave her identity away.

* * *

 

By the time Emma finally sat down with Regina in her office, Emma's temper had fizzled out. Of course, Regina made her wait over half an hour before the receptionist motioned for her to enter the office, but Emma chose to view the wait as more time to cool down instead of allowing herself to get even more angry at the slight. Emma knew it just wouldn't be prudent for her to give Regina any inkling that she knew about the curse, not that she'd ever admit, even to herself, that she thought she really would be able to break it.

Regina smiled as Emma settled onto a sofa facing her, "I'd like to start by apologizing, Miss Swan."

Emma was not expecting that, "What?"

"I just have to accept the reality that you want to be here," Regina ignored Emma's question.

"That's right, I do," Emma realized that she really did want to be there, despite how many times she'd said something to the contrary.

"And that you're here to take my son," Regina's statement angered Emma and she was barely able to contain her temper as she responded.

"Okay, let's be clear. He's not your son legally or in any other way," Emma reminded herself not to be overly defensive or Regina might realize how close she and Ellery were, "But, I have no intention of taking him from anyone." _I won't take him personally, at least. But I will help Ellery take him back._

"Well then," Regina acted confused, "what are you doing here?"

"I know I'm not a mother, I think that's pretty self-evident." She never had been that kind of person after all. But neither had Ellery and yet she'd done a fairly good job raising Henry even with the Evil Queen's obvious meddling, "But I did have him. And I can't help that he got in my head and I want to make sure he's okay. Mostly because he's in foster care and I never wanted that for him. The more you try to push me out, the more I want to be here. Especially after seeing how troubled he is."

"You think he's troubled?" Regina asked and Emma couldn't tell if the Mayor was pleased or upset at the thought.

"Well, he's in therapy," Emma pointed out and then kept on, pointedly glaring at Regina as she continued, "And I only got through a few pages of his file before you had me arrested. But putting all that aside, for one, the things he went through with his mother were obviously traumatic. And he thinks everyone in this town is a fairy tale character."

"And you don't?" Regina asked and Emma could see how calculatingly Regina was watching her.

"How can I?" Emma knew she had to appear as "normal" as possible, instead of as if she'd been raised by Snow White. Whether she believed in her role in breaking the curse or not wasn't the issue now. Lulling Regina into a false sense of security was, "The poor kid can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse. It's crazy."

"You think I'm crazy?" Emma spun to see Henry standing in the door to the office with a heartbroken look on his face.

"Henry…" Emma wanted to explain that she didn't mean what he had just over heard, but he ran off before she could say more than his name. _Shit, this is exactly what Ellery and I wanted to avoid. He's supposed to think he can count on me. I don't know how I'm supposed to fix this one._ She turned to Regina, "How long was he there?"

"Long enough," Regina purred smugly.

"You knew he would be here." Emma realized and cursed the Evil Queen silently.

"Did I know that my son comes to my office every Thursday at precisely 5pm so I can take him to dinner before his therapy session?" Emma wanted to slap the smug look off Regina's face as she spoke, "Of course I did. I'm his mother. Your move."

"You have no soul." Emma spat as she stood to leave, "And I take back what I said earlier, I am going to take Henry from you and give him back to his real mother, because you are NOT his mother and I am NEVER going to allow you to be his mother."

* * *

 

Ellery was folding laundry when the walkie-talkie she kept with her all the time went off, "Henry? It's after five; you're supposed to be getting dinner with Regina before your session."

Ellery heard Henry press the button to answer, but he didn't say anything because he was sobbing too hard. Ellery began to worry when he let go of the button and she tried again, "Monkey, what's going on? Where are you?"

"Outside the store," Henry finally answered, his voice trembling.

Ellery dropped the laundry she was currently folding and walked quickly to the front room. Henry was standing outside the door with tears streaming down his face as he shivered from the cold. Ellery threw open the door and pulled her son inside and into her arms, heart aching as she wondered what had hurt her son so badly, "Oh, Henry. What happened, love?"

"Emma, th-thinks I-I-I'm crazy," Henry stuttered out between sobs. His face was buried in Ellery's shoulder and he was clinging to her hard. "I went to meet Regina and I heard her say it. Mom, I'm not crazy."

"Oh, I know you're not." Ellery reassured her son soothingly as she wondered what would have made her sister say something like that in front of Henry after their discussion that morning, "I bet Emma doesn't really think that either, Monkey."

"But she said it," Henry insisted, pulling back to look his mother in the eye, "Why would she say that if she didn't believe I was crazy?"

"Who was she talking to, Monk?" Ellery inquired, leading Henry gently by his shoulders into the back of the store and digging through the refrigerator to find something to make Henry for dinner before his session in less than an hour.

"Regina," Henry answered, plopping down dejectedly in a chair at the table.

"If Emma doesn't actually think you're crazy," Ellery began, deciding to reheat the leftover lasagna she and Mary Margaret had ordered and split from Granny's two days earlier, "can you think of any reason why she would have said that while talking to _Regina_?"

Henry caught the emphasis on Regina's name and began to grin, "Because she doesn't want the Evil Queen to know she believes in me?"

"Maybe," Ellery replied, pulling out the lasagna as the microwave beeped, "The only way you'll know for sure is if you ask her. Now, eat, you have a session with Archie in forty-five minutes."

Henry's grin disappeared, but he accepted the lasagna and began to eat hungrily, "Can't I just skip therapy today?"

"Not an option, Monkey," Ellery wrinkled her nose in sympathy as she pulled her own plate out of the microwave and sat down across from Henry so she could eat, "I'm going to be in enough trouble with Regina as it is for not sending you back to her now, but I bet she'll be willing to overlook this after getting Emma to say what she did. I am not willing to face consequences for not sending you to therapy."

"Fine," Henry sighed and kept eating, "but I'm not talking to him tonight."

"That's your prerogative, Monkey," Ellery said, "But it's always good to talk to someone you trust, and you can trust Archie."

"I can talk to you." Henry shot his mother a cheeky smile, "I don't need to talk to Archie."

"Of course, you can talk to me anytime, Henry," Ellery swallowed past the lump in her throat, she didn't know what she'd done in her past to deserve the son Emma had given her a little over a decade ago. But despite everything she'd gone through with him, she wouldn't change her decision for anything. "Anytime."

* * *

 

After wandering the streets of Storybrooke for over an hour, Emma finally knew what she had to do. She had to leave. She couldn't help Ellery and Henry if they couldn't trust her. So she was going to leave, for now. After returning the money her mother had used to bail her out that is.

She stood outside her mother and sister's apartment door for much longer than was strictly necessary before gathering the courage she needed to knock. Mary Margaret answered the door and seemed surprised to see her, so Emma said awkwardly, "Hey. Just wanted to say thank you and, um, pay you back the bail money."

Mary Margaret took the money and stared at Emma searchingly for a second before she stepped aside and pulled the doors open even wider, "You look like you need to talk."

It probably should have surprised Emma that Mary Margaret could read her so well, but Emma supposed that she was aching to speak to her mother so badly that she didn't really care what form she got Snow White in. Emma walked inside and sat down at the table while Mary Margaret went into the kitchen to take a pot off the stove, "I was making some cocoa for myself and Ellery, but there's enough milk for a third cup if you'd like some."

Emma nodded gratefully, feeling as if she was back in high school and about to have a serious conversation with her mother. Which, she supposed, she was. "Where is Ellery?"

"Oh, she'll be home soon," Mary Margaret said as she began fixing three mugs of hot cocoa, "She called about ten minutes ago to say she was on her way."

Mary Margaret walked to the table with two of the mugs and set one down in front of Emma. For some reason, Emma hadn't expected Mary Margaret to like cinnamon on her hot cocoa since that was something Queen Eva had introduced to a very young Snow White and had become such a huge part of Snow White's personality that she was sure Regina would have tried to snuff it out. So when Emma saw the cinnamon stick in her mug, she was surprised, "Cinnamon?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I should have asked." Mary Margaret was so much more timid than Snow White had ever been and Emma hated it, "It's a little quirk of mine that I've passed on to Ellery, I didn't think. Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Emma said distractedly and then remembered the manners Snow White had instilled in her at a young age, "Oh, thanks. Earlier, when you tried to bail me out, you said that you trusted me. Why?"

"It's strange. Ever since Ellery, and then you, arrived here, I've had the oddest feeling like I've known you for so much longer than I really have," Mary Margaret admitted sheepishly, "And I know it's crazy. Plus, you're Ellery's sister and that counts for a lot in my book. She means a lot to me."

"Aww, you mean a lot to me too, Mare," Ellery said as she came through the front door, having overheard the tail end of Mary Margaret's statement, "Em, what are you doing here? I thought we were meeting in two hours at my store."

Emma hesitated and Mary Margaret spoke up, "She came to pay me back for bailing her out earlier. And now we're drinking cocoa and talking. There's a mug on the counter for you if you'd like to join us."

"Definitely," Ellery said, setting her bags and basket of folded laundry down; grabbing her mug of cocoa; and sitting down next to her sister, "I just had dinner with a distraught Henry who thinks you don't believe in him. What the hell happened?"

"Regina," Emma groaned, "I told her that I thought Henry's theory was crazy and he overheard me."

"Do you really believe that Henry's theory is crazy?" Mary Margaret asked, shaking her head slightly as she stared at the identical twins sitting across from her, "Wow you two look the same except for the glasses. How Regina hasn't realized you two are sisters yet is beyond me."

"We aren't going to bring attention to that," Ellery chuckled, taking a sip of her cocoa, "The less Regina suspects Emma can actually do to help me get Henry back, the easier it will be to actually get him back."

"And that fact, along with everything else that's happened to me over the last few days has made me start to re-evaluate my definition of crazy." Emma groaned, "And I don't know what I think about Henry's theory honestly, but after what he heard and Regina having me arrested, things don't look too good."

"For what it's worth," Mary Margaret said, laying her hand on Emma's, "I think you're innocent."

"Of breaking and entering; or just in general?" Emma asked and Ellery snorted.

"Whichever makes you feel better," Mary Margaret said, trying unsuccessfully to hide her smirk at the look Emma shot her sister.

"Well, it doesn't really matter what anyone thinks I did or didn't do." Emma said, ignoring the cheeky grin Ellery sent her way, "I'm leaving. Thank you Mary Margaret, for everything. Ellery, I think me leaving for now is for the best. If I stay, Henry's only going to keep getting hurt."

Ellery looked like she wanted to protest, but Mary Margaret spoke first, "What happens if you go? I think the very fact that you want to leave is why you have to stay. You care about him. You care about Ellery. Who's going to protect and help them if you won't?"

"I can still help even if I'm not here," Emma protested weakly.

"It'll be better for us if you're here and if you make friends in town who can vouch for you," Ellery insisted, "I need you here. Henry needs you here."

"But he doesn't want me here anymore," Emma reminded her sister.

"He will if you tell him that everything you told Regina was a trick," Ellery said slowly, "that you were just trying to throw her off the trail of the curse."

"You think he'll go for that?" Emma asked, not bothering to explain that was exactly what she'd actually been doing when talking to Regina. Ellery probably knew that by now anyway.

"I've already planted the idea in his mind," Ellery admitted, "So let's head over to Archie's, it's almost the end of his session anyway, and find out if he'll accept it."

"You're coming with me?" Emma asked.

"Of course," Ellery smiled, "You're my sister and he's my son. If I don't go with you, one of you is bound to say the wrong thing and then we'll be right back here. It's better if I come to play mediator. We can leave when we finish our cocoa."

Emma stuck out her tongue at her sister, but she took another sip of her cocoa without speaking and just enjoyed the moment.

* * *

 

Emma and Ellery arrived at Dr. Hopper's office near the end of Henry's hour long session, just in time to hear Archie ask, "Is that who you think I am? Jiminy Cricket?"

"I don't think you're anyone," Henry said sullenly and both sisters looked at each other worriedly before bursting through the door to the office.

"Miss White! Miss Swan!" Archie exclaimed in shock, "Look, I can explain. The Mayor forced me to…"

"I know." Emma interrupted, brushing off Archie's apology in her concern to help Henry, "Don't worry about it. I get it. Henry, I'm sorry."

"I don't want to talk to you." Henry grumbled obstinately.

"Monkey, you should at least give her a chance to explain," Ellery interjected from her spot by the door. Henry only frowned harder.

Archie looked at the sisters, "Miss White, Miss Swan, if she knew you were here…"

"To hell with her!" Ellery and Emma spoke in unison and then looked at each other in shock. It had been years since they'd last spoken in unison, though they'd done it all the time as children.

Emma shook her head slightly to focus her thoughts again, "Henry, there is one simple reason I stayed here. You. I wanted to get to know you and to help you."

The unspoken fact that she'd stayed for Ellery too was understood by those who already knew that connection and Henry didn't comment on Emma not saying that about her, which meant that Archie was left blissfully in the dark as Henry spoke sullenly again, "You think I'm crazy."

"No, I think the curse is crazy. And it is. But that doesn't mean that it isn't true." Emma admitted the truth, but refused to look at her sister since Ellery was sure to be smirking, "It is a _lot_ to ask anyone to believe in, but there are a lot of crazy things in this world. So what do I know? Maybe it is true."

Henry looked confused, "But you told Regina…"

"What she needed to hear." Emma reassured her son/nephew, "What I do know is that if the curse is real, the only way to break it is by tricking the Evil Queen into thinking that we are non-believers. Cause that way, she's not onto us. Isn't that what Operation Cobra is all about? Throwing her off the trail?"

"Brilliant!" Henry grinned, snapping out of his bad mood immediately, "But we're going to need mom…"

"I've never not believed in you, Monkey," Ellery said, coming over to sit on Henry's other side, "I just want you to be careful about who you talk to about it. My case for custody is already on shaky ground and I don't want to lose you."

"But the curse being real could prove that Regina sent that man after us and that you weren't in rehab and…." Henry's tone was pleading as he stared at his mother, but Ellery interrupted him.

"Henry, everyone knows we were attacked and that I was in the hospital as a result of that," It was Ellery's turn to avoid Emma's gaze as she tried to shove down the memories threatening to overwhelm her, "But the men who admitted to our faces that Regina sent them after us, told the police I stole drugs from them. Regina used Alex to plant those same drugs in my shop and Graham found them while I wasn't able to be in town and defend myself. Yes, the judge has since decided that I didn't actually steal the drugs, but I was gone for three months, Henry, and in the eyes of the law, that's abandonment. And Regina is the law. She has everything so twisted that if the curse is real then breaking it would be the only way we could get the upper hand."

Emma knew there was something else Ellery wasn't saying, something that would probably help her custody case, but Emma could tell that Ellery desperately wanted to keep this secret from her son for some reason. "I do have one idea on how to keep us ahead of Regina."

Emma's statement drew Henry's attention away from his mother and Ellery smiled tearfully, "How?"

"I've read these pages and, Henry, you are right. They are dangerous. There is only one way to make sure she never sees them," Emma pulled out the pages she'd read hundreds of times as a child, pages that detailed the circumstances of her birth, and threw them into the fire. "Now we have the advantage."

Henry smiled, "I knew you were here to help me."

"That's right kid," Emma smiled back, "I am. And nothing, not even a curse, is going to stop that. Now, let's get outta here."

"Okay," Henry stood up, "See you later, Archie. You coming, Mom?"

Ellery grinned and took the hand her son offered her, "Yeah, but I'm going to have to take you home soon."

"It's not home," Henry insisted, "but I'll go back if I have to; as long as I can still come home when I have nightmares."

"Of course," Ellery smiled as they walked out of the building, "and I guess I should go ahead and tell you that Olivia convinced the judge to reinstate our visitations. We still don't get the whole weekend, but we get Saturday together and two weekends from now like we're supposed to have."

Henry grinned, "Really?"

Ellery nodded, "Yeah. Regina will try to fight it, but Olivia's pretty sure things will continue to remain the way they should."

Henry turned to Emma, "See, you're helping me already."

Emma laughed, "That's why I'm staying kid. I really do want to help you."

Henry took Emma's hand in the one not holding Ellery's and the three of them walked down Main Street, laughing and talking about things not related to the curse for once. After half an hour, Emma and Ellery dropped Henry off down the street from the Mayor's house and watched as he ran inside.

The sisters began walking back up Main Street in silence until Ellery took a deep breath and began speaking, "I was pregnant."

"What?" Emma stopped short and stared at her sister.

"When Henry and I were attacked." Ellery took a few more steps before stopping and turning to face Emma, "I know you could tell there was more to the story earlier. That's it. I'm still not ready to tell you everything, but that was why I left town. The attack sent me into labor 12 weeks early. My doctor was in Augusta, I didn't, don't, trust Dr. Whale since he's under the curse and so I left Henry with Mom while I went to try and stop my labor."

"What happened?" Emma hadn't expected anything her sister was telling her.

"I was put on monitored bed rest for 3 weeks until I was 31 weeks along and then they couldn't stop my labor any longer," Ellery sighed, "She was in the NICU for 6 weeks and then I stayed with her for two more weeks because I was afraid she was going to die at any moment."

"Where is she now?" Emma asked the fairly obvious question.

"With her father," Ellery said, "I came home after two weeks because Mom called me to say Regina had Henry. I had planned to bring her here with me, but hearing what Regina had done made me realize she would be safer out past the town line. I go and see her every few months. It's not enough, but I know she's safe and happy."

"If you told the judge…" Emma began.

"No," Ellery interrupted, "I don't want Regina to know, ever. If she found out, she would cross the town line and stop at nothing to use my daughter as collateral. Look, I know we made plans to talk tonight, but I don't think I'm up for it after what happened in Archie's office. Can we take a rain check?"

"Yeah of course," Emma said, staring at Ellery worriedly, "You gonna be okay?"

"I'm always okay," Ellery smiled sadly, "Good night, Emma."

"Good night," Emma replied and watched as her sister walked away.

* * *

 


End file.
